Unknowingly Marked
by E.V. Laurie
Summary: One night it was all that it took to become pregnant with Sesshoumaru's child. One day to find out she didn't know who he was or where to find him. Well, Maya might be low on cash, but not on resolution. She'll manage. SesshxOC/AU
1. Chapter 1

**Vocabulary**

Onna – Woman

Tenshi – Angel

Yokai – Demon

Ningen – Human

Sengoku Jidai – A time period in the history of Japan (1467 – 1615) CE (Common Era) or AD (Ano Domini)

Kami – God

Maaya – Japanese name meaning True Design

Takamine Joukichi – A Japanese samurai and chemist (November 3, 1854 – July 22, 1922). He isolated the enzyme Takadiastase for his research in rise fermentation for the production of sake and in 1901 he isolated and purified the hormone adrenaline –the first effective bronchodilator for asthma– from animal glands, becoming the first to accomplish this for a glandular hormone

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

**Chapter 1: Meeting**

**W**hen she entered the club, her thin and elegant figure caught the attention of all the males in the room. Some were hanyou or yokai and she could even pinpoint a human or two looking her way, but she did as if they weren't there. Some other time she would have been nervous at the predatory looks she was receiving, but today was her fun day, and she wasn't about to allow those bastards to get in her nerves. So she ignored them and continued to walk toward the bar swaying her hips at the loud music. The sounds felt so right and delectable that her feet were twitching with anticipation.

She sat down in one of the unoccupied chairs and asked the bartender for a beer. She wanted to feel sensual in the dance floor, and alcohol always helped. She noticed the man was a hanyou with dark hair and shining blue eyes with a half-smile in his lips as he looked at her. She had to admit the half-demon was attractive with his boyish face and strong built, but he looked too nice for her. She never liked good boys before so why start now. The bartender brought her the beer and went back to his business when he noticed she wasn't interested. She smirked at herself when she saw the rejected look the guy had. It reminded her of the time she lived in a small village in the middle of nowhere. Boys tended to flock around her at the tender age of 15. She had enjoyed their attention very much, but nowadays she hardly had time to notice such things. 90% of the time she was working her ass off at the station. Technically, that day wasn't supposed to be any different but her friends convinced her to actually take some days off. She had been working for two years straight with no rest or unnecessary outing. She hadn't been complaining at all, but her so called friends were. They insisted she needed to liberate herself from the tensions of her job. 'What tensions?' she had asked. But they said nothing and shipped her off to the club she found herself in. Once she was on her way she began to think they were right, or at least, not completely wrong. She had been alone for several years since her last boyfriend and maybe she needed to change her routine. Miroku had said that finding some male company would be a really nice variation and she was beginning to think about it. Up until that point in her life, she had still to give herself to a man and she really thought that she wouldn't find the right person before she was old and decrepit; especially after the boyfriend fiasco of years before. Deciding she would seriously consider it if someone of notice appeared in her radar, she just drank from her beer.

After several minutes of considering what she going to do in such a place, she started looking around the club. It was like any other nightclub she had entered before, except with a lot of people dancing. Truth be told, she had only been in a discotheque making an arrest, and at those times the place was a wreck with not much to look at. However, even when the club thing was new to her, the blaring music was not and it felt good to her ears, the sound kept building the need to shake her body until she couldn't move another muscle from her exhausted carcass. She really needed to dance. It had been so long since she had time to enjoy herself that she had forgotten what it felt like. But that's what happens when you run away with your 'boyfriend', if it must be called that. The memories returned to her opening once again the book she had sworn to close forever and she saw her younger self with a smitten smile in her innocent face.

At the beginning everything had been ok. Granted, she wasn't sure how she had ended up in the city with the guy but he seemed nice enough. The man was actually a yokai and, although she had been apprehensive at first, he didn't harm her. Maybe she should have considered he had kidnapped her but it never crossed her mind since in her primitive village such things rarely happened. She remembered that in the small town, people didn't like yokai, but they didn't fear them either, claiming to be under the protection of Inari, an ancient god of fertility. Either way, she found herself in the city with a yokai and very unsure of how she had gotten there. With patience unknown to any species, he explained to her, over and over again, that they had met in her village and began to see each other frequently. Eventually, he began to court her but her family was against their union so they decided to elope. On their way to the city, she had had a head injury making her forget the memories pertaining to him.

She had believed him even when something about the baloney story didn't strike her right, and in mere weeks, he had grown on her and she actually convinced herself that what he said was true and that she loved him as he had claimed she had done before. But such fake happiness wasn't to last. Not when he wanted her to prove her love for him. Her answer was simple. If they loved each other so much, they should marry first and then consummate their mating. She obviously didn't know what she was talking about and he didn't seem to understand the concept either. Instead, he became violent, breaking dishes and furniture around the small apartment in the poorest and most lawless part of the city. One time he almost hit her. From then on, she began to fear him and doubt his intentions toward her. But once again, she convinced herself that she loved him so she would stay by his side until he decided to wed her. Besides, everything was new to her. The technology had been kind of overwhelming at first, remembering that such things didn't exist in her village and she had always heard of how advance cities were. Also, she didn't know her way around the place. The farthest she had gotten from the apartment was two blocks away and she had returned soon after, fearing she would get lost.

As time passed, he also became more spiteful toward her for the continuous refusals. In the end, they had a huge fight during which he called her a bitch and gold-digger –she had no idea he had a penny to his name, let alone that he was rich– before he stormed out of the apartment. She went after him and, as expected she got lost. After several hours of wandering aimlessly through the city and being chased several times by a group of thugs, she came to hide in an alley. There she found a crunched figure crying. The person looked so hurt and isolated that it pinched her heart to hear the pained sobs. For some strange reason, the fear and apprehension of being harmed again felt too familiar. And, when she tried to approach, startled brown eyes looked at her with fear. The first urge the woman got was to run away, but she followed and told her she didn't wish to do her harm. That had gotten the girl's attention.

Guessing the young woman, who appeared to be about 18 years old, knew the area better than her, she asked her how to get back to her apartment. At least she had had the sense to learn the address as her boyfriend had requested. The girl accepted to help and while Maaya showed her one her best smiles, she began to ask questions about her.

She learned that the woman's name was Hitomiko. She had lived in a shrine in Okinawa with her mother, brother and grandfather. One day, in her way to school a stranger came to her and began asking questions about the shrine and her family. She answered most of them since she thought the man only wanted to know about the history of the shrine. But that wasn't the case. The man kept meeting her at the same place over and over again, each time asking more personal questions. When she didn't answer his queries, he began to stalk her. By the end of the month she was afraid to leave her house and still the man came every day. She could see him from her window. They had called the police but they did nothing about the situation. One night, the man entered the house and killed her family. She had run away the instant she saw him while the rest, against her advice, went to the man to tell him to leave their home.

Her grandfather didn't get close enough to talk to the yokai who killed him before he had a chance to say anything. And when the rest tried to run they died before moving from the spot they had been the whole time. She had escaped and went to the train station. She hid in the train until she was sure nobody was following her, and by then she had rode the cart several times.

She had been running away from the yokai ever since, and he kept following wherever she went. Maaya decided that her new friend needed a place to stay and that she could be of some help. She just hoped that her boyfriend didn't oppose her. Taking Hitomiko with her –or vice versa because she had no idea which way they were heading– she talked a bit about herself and tried to ease the worrying mess the girl had become by reiterating that everything was going to be ok. She wasn't sure how the girl was going to take the news that she was living with a yokai, but at least she was going to be safe for a while.

Once they were in the apartment, she prepared a bath for Mi –as she had begun to call her– and made a sandwich for both of them. They seated themselves in the living room, eating and watching TV at the same time. Halfway through the food, her guest began to shake uncontrollably and a whisper-like chant began to emerge from her lips.

"He's here, he's here," Mi said so fast and quiet that it was almost hard to catch it. Maaya didn't know of what she spoke but then she heard a key opening the front door and her boyfriend came in. He had a terrifying smirk in his face and his eyes shone with evil intent toward both of them. Then she understood he was tired of playing games. The make-believe world he had created for her was over and she watched it crumbled in front of her as a sandcastle.

"Thanks for bringing her here, Hitomiko. I'll reward you later," his deep voice resonated through the quiet apartment and his comment only made the girl trembled more.

It was then that Maaya really felt the need to run. Standing up and pulling Mi with her, she tried to reach the bedroom to, at least, put some kind of barrier between the monster and them, but her friend incessant shaking made the escape unsuccessful. His speed didn't help much either as he flashed from the door to Maaya's side before holding her high by the neck. Throwing her into the bedroom, she felt her body slowly fly before hitting against something hard and passing out. When she woke up, Hitomiko had her hands full of blood and was trying to call the police. There was banging at the door. This one cricked from the massive blows it was receiving but never fell.

Mi managed to contact the PD but it would take some time for them to get there. While they waited, they hugged each other tightly, praying for the poor door to hold on a little longer and imploring the gods for the yokai to be caught or leave them alone. After a while, sirens were heard and soon the police was rescuing them. Sadly, the fiend ran away, but not without some damage. Later they were informed of his real identity and job. Apparently he was dedicated to human, weapon and drug trafficking and they had been looking for him for quite some time. Somehow, he always escaped when they almost had him. His name was Obinata Shishinki.

After the incident, they didn't know what to do. Maaya and Mi didn't have money or a place to go to. However, an officer helped them out. A place to stay was provided for them, education until they finished college and a job. They were set. There was no way they could deny such an offer. It was either that or going to live in an orphanage until they were old enough which neither of them was. They accepted willingly.

Maaya graduated from high school when she was 16. She prepared herself to become an agent in the force and, with her mentor's help, she landed a job in the West Yokai Control Department –better known as the West Police– when she was 19. With her first pay check she got her own apartment and gifts for her friends. She didn't eat well during the following weeks since her salary hadn't lasted that long with all the purchases but she thought it was well worth it. Hitomiko had been with her ever since the incident and was able to join the police a year later. The downside of her job was the pay, it was too little and she could barely get by. However, in exchange for the miser pay and long hours she gained good and trustworthy friends, and the drive to bust bastards like her ex-boyfriend.

She still felt like shit for believing the story the man feed her and the hurt hadn't gone away just yet. Neither was the fact that she still had no idea how she had come to be in the city even if she hadn't returned to her old village –she had like Kyoto too much to leave and didn't feel any urgency to return to that backwater place. However, right then and there it didn't matter. She was ready to forget the past for the time being and maybe find some nice company for the night. A nice mysterious man was the cure to her mopping and she has to admit that she was curious what making love or having wild sex would feel like. A one-night adventure sounded pretty damned good to her right then.

'_Better than a lonely bed in my one bedroom apartment,'_ she told herself as a tall figure passed behind her and sat in the far end of the bar. He was about 6'6 ft. tall, and she categorized him as a yokai, a really good looking yokai, with beautiful silver hair and honey gold eyes. It was normal to see a full demon in a mixed club, but somehow it didn't fit the one she was looking at. She watched as he sat down, ordered some drink and drank it all in one gulp. Seconds later, he asked for the whole bottle. She could tell he was trying to get drunk. Poor thing, his rate of success was 0.00000001%. Yokai had a resistance to alcohol that could almost be considered immunity. She kept her eyes on the figure and noticed his clothes were quite expensive and by the way the bartender treated him, he was a regular. But, she decided she wouldn't bother him since he seemed so distraught.

After a couple of minutes thinking of absolutely nothing useful, she finished her beer and went to the dance floor. She began to shake it like her life depended on it. With the alcohol in her system her movements were more fluent and sexy, if not a little jerky. But she would care about that in the morning. Right then, she would enjoy herself.

* * *

**T**he yokai had felt the eyes of the woman on him until he sat down and order his drink. She kept looking at him for another minute until she stopped staring and finished her drink. He saw her stand and walk toward the dance floor moving her hips in a seductive manner making more than a pair of eyes look her way. He saw as she began to move with the music and imagined many mouth watered with thoughts of tasting her. At her every move, her black miniskirt went up a little showing a very nice view to anyone who was close enough or had the sharp eyes to see it. Her white tank top contrasted her skirt, but fit her figure like her own skin. In his scrutiny of the female that had everybody's attention, he failed to notice someone coming up to him.

"So, you like her?" The voice interrupted his reverie.

"Hm," was his uninterested answer. The man that was sitting next to him knew better though. "She's ok I guess," Sesshoumaru decided to add for the sake of the conversation.

"Oh for Kami's sake, I don't think you looked well enough," the red eyed yokai said looking to the woman in the dance floor. "Are those eyes of yours for show? She's hot, man, with very nice piece of ass if I ever saw one."

"I'll tell Tsuyu about it then," added the taiyokai with a serious face.

"You wouldn't dare," the visitor narrowed his eyes at him, calculating if the man was joking or not. Finally deciding that his friend wasn't serious about telling his mate that he had been checking out somebody else's ass, he concentrated on the drink it was being served to him. "So, what are you going to do tonight?"

"Same as always," answered the annoyed demon. Was it possible to go out without anybody being worried about what he did?

"Is it with Sarah then?" Sesshoumaru shook his head and pointed to the dance floor. "I knew it. You couldn't stay away from a firm pair of legs combined with that ass," exclaimed happily the dark haired friend while his eyes danced merrily.

"What is to you anyways?" He was just curious. Never before had his friend come to point a female out to him. "Do you know her?"

"Nah," answered his friend. The taiyokai couldn't know if he was lying or not, it was an ability the demon had that not even the great Sesshoumaru could distinguish when he twisted the facts. He damned wondered why Hiten wasn't a lawyer. "But I have heard rumors of her looking for Mister Right. Thought you might be interested."

"I thought I had been pretty damned clear when I said I didn't want any of you hooking me up with some wench." Sesshoumaru was angry with his so called friend. That was not the first time it happened, so he was pretty familiar with how the situation could end.

"Slow down, I just said it was a rumor," defended Hiten putting his hands in front of him trying to calm down what seemed to be a volatile yokai.

"That most likely means you know her," shrugged the yokai knowing his reasoning was impeccable.

"That is not the case. I know of her but that's all. I was told she is a very lonely female and needs a bit of cuddling. For one night at least," said the red eyes male while drinking the whiskey in one gulp.

"Who said it?" Not many people knew of Sesshoumaru's favorite past time.

"Miroku," said his friend. "And well, she being your type and all, I thought that maybe you would be interested".

"The lecher, huh? She works with him or something?" the taiyokai asked while he considered his options. The girl was really beautiful and well, maybe it would be fun to spend time with her. He could think of a couple of things she would enjoy but there were still other things to consider.

"Most likely although he didn't say," admitted Hiten. "Besides, is either her or Sarah, and I know you are tired of _that_ hanyou. As I understood you dumped her and weren't answering her phone calls. She was going crazy because of that and begged me to put in several good words with you on her behalf."

"There are other options," was the stoic answer but he knew that none of them were as enticing as the woman's lithe form dancing under the flashing lights. She had something that was pulling him to her.

"Heh, you tell yourself that. But for your own good, you should go for a blond one next time or maybe a red head because you type looks similar to Kagome," hinted the demon. Sesshoumaru just tensed at the mention of that name before loosening up.

"I'll keep that in mind," he murmured.

"Well, I'll be going. Don't want Tsuyu to get suspicious," said Hiten before disappearing among the crowd.

Sesshoumaru looked at his future one-night lover. Hiten was right about so many things. One of them was that the woman was hot. His friend had obviously missed innocent but it didn't matter. He didn't think she was going to be pure by the end of the night. Another thing was Sarah. That obsessive hanyou had done it when she followed him to another club and tried to sabotage his plans for the night. Although he did the same almost every evening, Sarah had been taking some liberties with his schedule, like appearing out of nowhere when she was less wanted. Bottom line was, he was done with her and her mania to control everything he did.

Along those lines came his personal obsession, Kagome. She was so beautiful and nice to everybody that he found that she complemented him in every aspect of his life. While he was unforgiving, she was compassionate and understanding, trusting people and giving them second chances to redeem themselves. She was human and a miko –an enemy of his race–; however, she didn't care for demographics or the amount of zeros in his bank account. She was perfect in every way except for one, she was married.

Deciding to stop that line of thoughts before he ended up mopping instead of getting some action, he decided to concentrate all his attention on the female figure dancing the night away. And even then, he couldn't stop himself from comparing the young woman who had everybody's attention to his Kagome. The woman certainly lacked the grace and elegance of movement that his miko possessed. But then again, she was quite flexible and her body was well toned with perfect proportions. Also the way she told people off wasn't harsh or demeaning, for almost every male that went to dance with her left with a smile. Not of satisfaction, but not dejection either. Although compassion wasn't it, then again, there was a chance that compassion wasn't in her job description but decisive and assertive probably were. He would assume protective as well. He noticed that her eyes were as black as a moonless night, and that her black straight hair fell in her back almost reaching her waist. Her height was about the same as Kagome's so from the back they could be mistaken for each other. Damn, what was he doing comparing the wench to his miko. They might look a little alike but that was it. True, that miniskirt was divine but he felt he had been blaspheming his goddess, and that had to stop.

How low he had fallen, now after work all he did was fuck some bitch to try to forget. Each time he got laid with a female he thought he was making love to Kagome, and Kami knew how wrong that was. For fuck's sake, he wanted to make love to his half-brother's mate so badly that it was killing him. He needed a distraction, a really damned good distraction.

He looked at the girl again, this time she was being asked to dance by another guy. He looked to be in his thirties but he knew better. The man was a yokai; his unusual red eyes told him so. He could add the smell and the fangs showing off while he smiled at her. The yokai was acceptable, not as good looking at him, but he was somewhat handsome. To his surprise he saw her say no to the prospect of dancing with him. Maybe she noticed something wrong with his invitation. If so, she had good instincts. The yokai was obviously up to no good. The demon didn't take it good that a lowly human had denied him and might try to do something in the near future. The idea of his night being ruined by the guy's need to save his filthy pride didn't appeal to Sesshoumaru and he decided it was time to make his move.

* * *

**S**he had felt his eyes follow her every move since she had left the bar, and now she had gotten a glimpse of him coming her way. She didn't give it much thought. There was no way her assumptions were right. Come on, he was the hottest alcohol-loving yokai she had ever seen and there were a lot of better looking women in the club, so there was no way he had noticed her. However, inside her an inaudible voice was saying otherwise. She shrugged away such a crazy idea until she felt a pair of hands capture her waist and pull her toward a well-built chest.

She turned and held onto him to stop her body from falling and a surprised gasp escaped her lips. He was actually there clenching her body against his and it disturbed her how right it felt. A pink blush crawled into her cheeks and her heart had increase the beat to a thousand miles per second. _'Stupid heart,'_ she told herself, _'calm down, is not like he wants me for anything else than a good fuck.'_He began to move against her body following the rhythm of the music. They were dancing so close to each other that it was impossible not to feel him. His strong hands wandered over her ass, sometime going a little down almost touching her core, which was getting wet from his light touch, and other times up caressing her back. She was burning between his limbs and the little torture was far from over.

He loved the little sounds she was trying to suppress as his hands rambled over her body. He could smell her arousal increase at a fast pace. Damn, he wanted to have her juices dripping from his mouth as he brought her closer to heaven. He wondered if her essence would be as sweet as her scent, that wild berry like aroma with the spicy tang that was making his wild side stir. He didn't like it, but the smell of her excitement was maddening, and he wanted to have her as soon as it took him to get to the hotel. But he had to be patient, she was still innocent.

Not being able to hold himself back much longer, he inhaled in her scent while moving closer to her collarbone. Fanning her neck with his breath, he felt as she shivered before biting softly her ear; Going down her neckline while tasting her in his tongue as she moaned into his own ear was really arousing. Until that point he hadn't noticed they had stopped dancing and that he was almost covering her with body. They obviously needed to stop or he would take her right there and it was getting hard to control that wilder part of him that wanted out.

"How about we sit down for a while," he said with his sensual husky voice. She nodded, since her brain was still recovering and her breathing was quite irregular. Besides, she wasn't sure she could stop herself from attacking him even when the idea was illogical in itself. Erecting himself, he placed his big hand on her lower back and pushed her toward the bar. They sat down where he had been before, in his corner from where he could see the whole club and have privacy at the same time. He saw many males look his way with jealousy, and several females as well. He received ferocious looks in a vain attempt to intimidate him. There was no way he was leaving the petite onna alone with all those brutes. He was no better, but his pride wouldn't let him back off and he had won her over each and every loser that was in the room.

"What would you like to drink?" He asked looking into her eyes. She felt herself shiver under his intense gaze which made it harder to think about the question. She felt lost in his golden eyes and blushed when he asked her again.

"A scotch, please," she managed to say, making her blush a little harder. He liked the effect he had on her.

"Make that two," he told the bartender. He could smell how much she wanted him and it felt it amplify every second. "Sorry, I forgot your name."

"I never told you my name," she replied with the shadow of a smile grazing her lips. He made it seem like an innocent question and made her wondered how many others had fallen in his trap.

"Indeed, you never told me," he said smiling and letting her get a view of his perfectly white fangs. "My name is Musashi Aki. So, what's yours?" She had that effect on him. Her innocence made him want to smile. That wasn't good, he never smiled and that had many implication on whatever he was feeling for the woman in front of him. He was about to scowl; however, he was able to stop himself from narrowing his eyes. He was wondering how he could be suspicious of the tenshi in front of him.

"I'm Minamoto, Minamoto Maaya," she said fast. "Maaya will be fine". Now that he was near her she could contemplate his face better. He had a purple crescent moon on his forehead and two magenta stripes in his cheeks. His hair was long and silky tied in a nice ponytail. He didn't seem as sad as before and it felt good that her company was somewhat appreciated.

After the first drink, many more followed although she didn't get drunk. She had learned some time ago that she also had immunity to alcohol. But that didn't stop her from enjoying the conversation with the yokai named Aki, maybe it helped more than she wanted to admit. It would have been really embarrassing if in her drunken stupor she had said something awkward. Besides, this gave her an opportunity to learn a little about him even if nothing personal was said. The way he moved, how he spoke and the way he looked at her told her all she needed to know. For example, his voice was a silky baritone that got husky when he was exited and, although sometimes had a chilling coldness to it, it was never directed at her –most of the time that happened when he didn't like something or when he was trying to hide his feelings. His face also went emotionless and his gaze became hard. He hardly smiled but when he did, his features relaxed and his golden eyes shone like the sun. Those sexy stripes in his face also became lighter or darker as his mood changed, but the change was barely noticeable.

He was smart bordering in genius for he knew of everything and had plenty of subjects of which to talk. She herself wasn't so bad, but not as knowledgeable as he. She hardly had time to study or read a book without her job interfering. And she hadn't watched TV for the longest. What for? She worked for the police and always knew what was going on, at least crime wise.

Sesshoumaru was also enjoying their conversation and was glad that Kagome wasn't the only female that could carry a conversation about Takamine Joukichi without asking who the hell the guy was. But he cared not about such trivialities; he was more interested in those signals she was sending his way. They had yet to touch more than their knees which brushed against each other once in awhile sending delicious electric waves of awareness into his body. The sexual tension was still there and he could swear that it just morphed into something more demanding and potent, increasing his need to pull that sexy outfit off her body and do some very sinful things to her virginal self. He even began to consider having something more than a simple one night stand but had to brush that thought aside. He rarely went steady with the women he dated. Most of them were just for one night and those that were not, didn't last that long in a relationship with him. He decided that he would spare her the suffering of such an association and that he would enjoy her body to the maximum just that one night. Besides, she might just be playing gullible. Everybody knew who he was but the woman didn't even bat an eyelash when he told her a fake name. He had always known some females played his game even knowing that he was Taishou Sesshoumaru, Western Dignity. He wondered if she was among those gold-diggers but pushed the thought away. She just didn't seem the type and it was hard to imagine her stalking him through all Japan like many others had done. That only placed thoughts in his mind and none were much of stalking, except when she was on top of him, impaling herself in his shaft. He was letting her do whatever she wanted with his body, bite, suck and kiss, leaving marks all over him. They were in an alleyway, far from prying eyes where he would change the situation and have her against the wall and driving himself into her hidden treasure while biting her ear. He felt his manhood twitch to life at that particular thought. He had to find a way to calm himself and make the erection go away until needed, but her scent wasn't helping. And her voice, that angelic voice didn't stop him from imagining her screaming his name and moaning while she 'raped' him. The bulk increased in his pants. _'Maybe I liked her a bit too much.'_

He had waited long enough, he was almost ready to pounce on her and a club wasn't a good place for what he had in mind.

"It's kind of late, maybe I should get going," she said looking away from him. He knew she was lying, and he was surprise at her audacity to insinuate such a thing. Maybe she could read what he had been thinking. He couldn't suppress the smile that had formed in his lips; the angel in front of him was naughty indeed.

"It's ok, I could take you home…" He said making her widened her eyes in surprise and then her face went apple red. "It's ok if you don't want to, maybe you are interested in some other place," he added.

"Ok, I'll go with you. It might not be that late anyway," she whispered looking down and moving her hands nervously.

"Then, let's go," he stood up and paid the bill. He took her hand into his to guide her out of the club, the touch sent another shock through him that ended at the tip of his cock which was hard to hide but he managed. The last thing he wanted to do was spook her and have to take care of the problem by himself.

They got into his car and went to his favorite hotel. The drive there had been silent as she nervously tapped her foot. She jumped when he placed his hand on her thigh, but he just squished it a little before letting go and murmuring a "Relax". He smelt the excitement that soon followed as her scent became zestier as he drowned in it. His eyes blinked red for a second before returning to their original gold; however, Sesshoumaru hardly notice that lapse of judgment on his part.

* * *

"**G**ood evening sir would you like the usual room?" The clerk asked. The guy looked at the girl behind the yokai and smiled. Sesshoumaru didn't like the look one bit. Truthfully, he didn't like the guy at all. He knew he worked most of the night shifts because he went there frequently. The youngster was annoying and always had a comment for the whores he brought.

"I want the best room available," he said, not leaving much time to be asked questions. He liked that particular hotel because they gave a fuck about who check in or out. They had a confidentiality motto of not asking questions and keeping the identity of its costumers private. As long as there was no real problem that involved the hotel or its owner, they didn't care if you were the most prominent figure on the international plane, they let you in. Along with that, they allowed humans, demons and everything in between. There was no need to make a reservation and it was decent enough that the Western Lord would use their services constantly.

"Yes, sir, nice gal by the way," the clerk added peeking at the girl with lust filled eyes. "She's the hottest one I've seen so far," Sesshoumaru almost killed him while he typed the information but decided against it, it would just bring more problems. He decided to ignore him and take the card the clerk offered him. "Have a pleasant night, sir," Sesshoumaru just growled as he walked toward his woman.

He took her hand and went to the elevator. After they entered he couldn't keep his hands to himself anymore, he had to touch her. He drew her closer and took her lips in his mouth. He had wondered what she would taste like but it had come as a surprised. She tasted like the sweetest peaches that grew wild around the land when he was a pup in the Sengoku Jidai. It was a refreshing taste since nowadays women smell and tasted like alcohol or cigarettes. At first he went slow, but couldn't hold that pace for too long and sneaked his tongue into her mouth to explore her wholly. However, she tried to fight him for dominance as he took full control over her mouth. The battle lasted until the elevator door opened leaving them with too little oxygen reaching their brains. He looked at his partner's face, she was breathing hard and he could see her desire in her eyes. Her cheeks were a little rosy making her step away in embarrassment. He held her in place and pulled closer if possible.

"You won't be escaping me anytime soon, Maaya," he said with a hoarse voice in her ear which he didn't waste time to nibble on.

She shivered at the suggestion and he was delighted at her response. They had to walk a little further to get to their room, but as soon as they were out her mouth captured his again in another delicious kiss. He pressed his hands in her ass hauling her closer to him, which provoked a silent whimper to come out of her mouth. He liked that sound a lot. And he was planning to make her repeated it several times during the night.

* * *

**A/N**

This is my first story ever. The first one I've written anyways. Please read and review if you think it's worth it. I have my OC named Maaya and other Inuyasha characters that are rarely used and some of them belong to the manga version now also anime. It will also have some words or phrases in Japanese, historical background and any other kind of information that I think needs to be explained will be part of the vocabulary.

This is a modified version. It's basically the same but with more description and longer. It clarifies certain things like that Maaya doesn't remember how she ended up with Shishinki –which will be explained later on– and some of the feeling that made her decided she wanted to have a one night stand with somebody. Along with that, is the fact that some dialogues have changed like the one between Sesshoumaru and Hiten and I took out some serious sentences that really didn't help much with the story. The other chapters will be fixed eventually but until now this is the first one. I'll inform when a chapter is changed. I hope you like this version better.

_Seleni Argyrios_


	2. Chapter 2

**Vocabulary**

Ningen – Human

Yamato Youji – Famous Japanese fashion designer

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

WARNING

Adult Content

18+

Rated MA for: (N) Nudity, (ESS) Explicit Sexual Scenes, (FL) Foul Language & (B) Bondage

**Chapter 2: Pleasure**

**I**n their way to the room they had come up with several difficulties, the most important was that they wouldn't let go of each other. Maaya had her legs around his hips as he carried her to their room. One of his hands was under her bra playing with an exited nipple while their mouths fused together in another heart stopping kiss that lashed at his control with a tempting sweetness. The fighting for dominance was still raging with no apparent winner. Maaya received as much as she got. She didn't let Sesshoumaru do all the work and felt his chest as their tongues wrapped one around the other in an appetizing dance. Sesshoumaru had to admit that she was something new and certainly thrilling. But his thought short circuited as her luscious tongue left his mouth to trail down his tense thick neck. He felt as his wilder side wanted to take over and control the bitch who wanted to have the reigns of the situation. He wasn't letting his control slip on either one. Maaya was one of the very few females who hadn't submitted to him yet. But it wouldn't take long, he had his ways –especially when he thought he had a say of how much clothes was allowed on their person.

The first thing to go had been her white tank top that now found itself shredded two doors away. The piece of clothing had been a hindrance in his advance and, therefore, was disposed of. Her startled cry came back to him making a smirk form in his handsome face.

"That was my favorite," she whined. He remedied that with a passionate kiss and letting her keep her bra for a while longer. However, she got a glint in her eyes that told him she was going to get revenge for her lost garment. He didn't like vindictive females and had almost lost it when she held his Yamato Youji aspesi collared shirt and pulled each side apart making the buttons fly in every possible direction. And then she kissed him, just as he had done, and was now making her way down his chest to play with his nipples. Funny thing was that he was enjoying the control he gave her. It wasn't much really but enough to allow her to bite him softly and swirl her tongue on his skin. He needed to get into the stupid room fast. Now he understood that he didn't need his shirt on. Actually, it helped tremendously to have it hanging open but he wasn't used to not having control over how things went when he was having sex and he needed to neutralize the vixen that tasted his body as a hungry pup.

"Maaya," he said while her hands navigated over his muscles as her lips came back to his to share another kiss. "The room," he added with a husky voice once his mouth was partially free. Ignoring his request, she grid her pelvis against his, causing a delicious friction between their bodies that left him breathless and more exited. "This'll only take a minute," he managed to said but decided against putting her down and leaving her waiting. Instead, he held her to him with in arm and with the other he got the card and swapped it. One of Maaya's hand snaked out to pull the doorknob down and with one powerful kick he opened the door.

Once inside, he placed her on the floor as the door clicked behind him. Turning her around, he watched the reaction to the room he had chosen. How she looked at the king size bed in the middle of the crystal room covered with velvet red sheets; and the way she responded to her reflection looking back from every possible direction except behind the bed where the windows were. And, at last, the look in her face when she saw his belt in his hands. Her attention was focused completely on it and a questioning look crossed her face. 'What is he planning to do with that?' he was sure her innocent head thought. He smiled and it sent cold shivers down her back, but she didn't step back or tried to run away. Well, too bad for her.

He didn't left her to ponder about the uses of his belt for too long, and caught her hands in it, securing the hold so she couldn't untied it. Her eyes were wide open, not sure of what was going on as he capture her lips in his and walked forward until the back of her knees hit the bed. He pushed her back and pulled her body so it ended in the middle of the giant red mattress losing her flip-flops in the process. Holding her hands against the headboard, he ripped the bothersome bra open showing a pair of small, round breast that bounced from the impact. He liked them. They were milky white with pink little nipples that were hard. He took one of the nubs in his mouth and rolled it with tongue making her gasp and moan as pleasure shot through her body. This was just the beginning and he would make sure she wouldn't be able to stand the next morning. He would show her the meaning of passion, and more importantly, the pain of letting him fuck her when she didn't know what a man felt like. Still, it was disappointing that he wouldn't be there to see it. He tried to eliminate any thought concerning the following day. What he needed to pay attention to was right under him, scared and delicious.

He grinned.

As she moaned she tried to get her brain to function properly because she didn't understand what he was doing. Maybe he didn't like the help with his expensive shirt and was time for his payback; although if that was the case there was no need to tie her up. She really wanted to give him a piece of her mind but all that she managed to do was moan a little louder as his hand went to play with her other breast. It fell too good and all that she managed to do was try to pull her hands away from his hold which didn't even budge.

"Trying to escape, hina?" He said; delight playing in his husky voice. "You should know better. I won't let you go, not until I'm satisfied with your beautiful body."

It had the effect intended, her cheeks were of a rose color again and she tried to say something but just stuttered. He was glad, for he didn't mean to wait another minute to make her feel in heaven. He didn't budge as he went down to capture once again one of her nipples. His tongue learning how to give the pleasure she sought, and her mind too occupied with not thinking to do anything else. She felt like she was floating. Oh Kami, what he could do with his tongue! She felt how he secured her hands to the headboard and continued his fight with her delicious breast. He was biting down, not hard enough to hurt her but just sufficient to excite her and force out of her those magnificent sounds he liked.

While his mouth was busy, he used his free hand to hold the other breast, to which he eventually went to suck and attend as he had done the other. And as before, he twisted her nipple and massaged it, making the sting as sweet as the pleasure she was receiving. She had been groaning while he displayed his skill, and had little time to react when he ripped away her black miniskirt. He lost no time making the little piece of cloth that covered her ass disappear. And, as fast as he had done before, he placed his mouth in her core and moved his tongue from her middle to her clit, sending waves of heat though her body. A moan escaped her mouth as he continued with the torture of biting her nether lips. The reactions he was making her experience were so intense that she found herself panting, ready for her release. But he wasn't going to let that happen, he stopped supplementing her with pleasure to bit into her tights. Little rivers of blood came out of the puncture marks his fangs left and he was sucking at them. The pain she felt as he kept on biting her sensitive skin was unpleasant and even if she tried her hardest to get away from him, he help her in place, plus the belt wasn't letting her get too far away.

Her blood was like an electric discharge in his body, making him hum with power and want spurring him to return to the sweetness hidden between her legs. Concentrating his tongue in her clit again, be began to move it. Slow at first, but increasing the speed to a pace that made it invisible to the human eye. He felt her tense against him, almost ready to come, when he stopped again and waited for her to calm down. This time he placed soft kissed along her thighs, where he had bitten before, making almost impossible to come down from her high. She wasn't taking this very well, just as he had hoped.

When he knew she had somewhat calmed down, he put his effort in her glorious center from where her juice was coming in generous quantities. He moved his tongue around her cavern and stopped to carefully place a finger inside her. He felt her shudder against his hand as he moved his finger in a circular motion, being careful his claws wouldn't hurt her. He combined another finger with his tongue to send her flying and increased the pace. He could sense she was coming toward her end, and this time, he would not stop her.

He felt her convulse against him as her climax took over letting all the accumulated tension go free. As her senses were trying to calm down, she felt her body trembling lightly from the incredible work out she had experience for the first time. And the need of something larger that would fill every part of her became eminent. But, that was easy to take care of, since he had a painful erection that was also looking for a release.

He made his pants and what was left of his shirt disappeared, and placed himself over the breathless girl. Her semi-closed eyes that were admiring his perfect figure stopped to look at his magnificent erection. Her eyes widen at the size of his shaft, but there was so much he could do. Demons weren't famous for being small and Inu yokai more than any had been very well endowed in that part of their anatomy. He guessed that for a virgin it was too much. They always asked themselves how something so big would fit inside little them, but it always did; just leave it to nature to find a way to do things.

"Relax," he whispered in her ear making her melt a little, but the size was quite impressive and it was hard to loosen after seeing it firsthand.

He had to get her attention away from the memory so he began to kiss her breasts slowly, moving towards her neck and eventually her mouth. Using the distraction to his advantage he accommodated himself in front of her miniature entrance and pushed forward.

The pain she felt when he was entering her was a little dull at first, but eventually became unbearable. The sting made a pair of mischievous tears run down her face, while she prayed to the others that were coming after to stay where they were. She had to double her efforts to avoid crying out from it. It might hurt like hell, but she didn't like the idea of looking weak in front of this yokai. She felt how his member made its way toward her center in a slow, agonizing motion.

He was doing it really slow so she could feel his thickness and length to its fullest, and it would be fun watching her trying not to cry. However, this torture he was providing her was turning out to be a torment for his own self. She was so tight that he could hardly think straight as her walls pressed against him. It was running dangerously between going insane or spilling his seed right then and there. Yet, he made himself hold on to whatever sanity was left until he finished deflowering this jewel he had in front of him.

By the time he was sheathed in her, he was breathless and sweating with his eyes blinking from red to yellow like a freaking traffic light. His instincts were trying to override his own personal mission of no strings attached and this is simply sex but breathing deeply, he controlled the beast he was within. With that accomplished, he paid attention to the distress damsel. He could feel her pain emanating from her like knives and he could smell the unshed tears. Up until now, he didn't feel any guilt in what he had done, in the contrary, he felt proud he had been her first. Readying himself to save her as the perfect knight in shining armor, he pulled himself out of her in a fast movement, leaving her gasping at the sudden motion. Just as fast, he entered her again and stayed there until she had accommodated to his extent and depth. He felt how she tried to move under him and decided to be good and do as she wanted, that and she was so tight that it was making his instincts come out and control him. He captured her lips in a kiss and made his way to her jaw line as he began to move inside her. His yoki was flaring in response to the restriction he was placing to himself so he was being faster and rougher than he thought it would be able to. Her moans and pleads to continue to hammer himself into her weren't helping much either.

"You like it, bitch?" He asked with a hoarse voice. "You like my dick inside your pussy?"

"Yes," she hissed as he went faster hitting a perfect spot each time he went in.

It didn't take long for him to be shuddering and begging for his release; however, he wouldn't allow his body that joy while she had not done so herself. In a ferocious attempt to bring her to the edge, he erected the upper half of his body, using his hands to pull her hips to him with more strength allowing him to go deeper into her. He held her in place while he drove himself into her, making her moan louder and become closer to the point of no return. However, he couldn't hold it any longer, and in a last attempt he hurled himself into her letting his seed fill her until it was spilling through the sides.

His crazed trusts into her had taken her higher than before, and all she could do was beg him to continue no matter what. Her walls were tensing as he went faster until he stilled and something balmy filled her. The unfamiliar warmth and his shaft inside her, touching her farthest wall, sent her into another blinding orgasm that left her exhausted.

He left himself fall over her being careful not to crush her with his weight. Their breath coming out fast and their heartbeats slowing down after the best explosion he had had in a long time. She needed to rest a little before they continued where they left off, he had something else planned for the only night he had with her. This time it was going to be a long night, like the ones from years before she had been born. It amazed him that he wanted to carry on and that he was looking forward to doing it again with the same female. Who would have thought that the tenshi in that club would hold such stamina? He placed himself next to her and pulled her closer to him to rest for a while, but not for long, there was not going to be much sleeping in his schedule.

* * *

**"A**ki," she called his name but he didn't respond, maybe he had fallen sleep. "Aki," she repeated.

"Hm," he said a little annoyed. He had forgotten that was the name he had given her.

"Could you untie me?" She asked hoping the answer would be yes.

"No," he said and pretended to sleep. There was quiet for about a minute before she began to move uncomfortably in her spot. Having her hands placed in that position was making her arms hurt, but it seemed that his majesty, King Aki didn't want to free her just yet.

"Aki," she called him again. This time, he turned around and looked at her in the face. There was something dark hidden in his eyes but she didn't know what could it be. On his side, Sesshoumaru simply hated that name. He was beginning to wonder why he had lied to her in the first place and was seriously considering either telling her the truth or just taping her mouth shut. He had decided that Maaya couldn't be playing with him. She most likely didn't have a clue of who he was and he just felt worst each time she used his fake name. However, there was no way Sesshoumaru was telling her the truth, not yet any way. There was a big chance she would try to leave or make him leave for doing that. Although any other person would demand retribution of some kind or simply just keep doing what they had been doing, he just didn't believe that Maaya was one of those. "Did you use any protection?" she asked really low making it impossible for a human to hear her as a blush appeared in her face and she averted his eyes.

He didn't know if to be offended by her question or just be grateful that she didn't want to become pregnant with his child. _'Does she think so little of me that she doubts my honor?'_ He asked himself.

"You don't have to worry, you are not fertile right now and yokai do not carry any STD's," he answered her in a tone that chilled her to the bone.

She saw his change when she had asked the question. It seemed that it had bothered him somehow. She couldn't blame him. He probably thought she found him unworthy or something similar. But it wasn't that, she just thought it would be in his best interest to not have a child he didn't know of. Eventually, she found herself thinking what his life would be like when he wasn't fucking somebody he didn't even know. Would he be a business man or maybe a model? And what kind of yokai was he? Did he have a mate? Did he have children with her? She didn't like the last thoughts she had or where they were going for that matter. She would rather think he was single for the time being and hope to never find out if he was or not.

Her musing was interrupted when she felt a hand touch the bud between her legs and fingers disappear between her thighs. A moan escaped her as he placed his mouth over her breast making circles around her nipple with his tongue. The fire in her blood was awaken again as he pushed his finger inside her.

"We need to bath," he murmured as he retrieved his finger from within her and freed the belt from the headboard but still kept it around her hands. _'Damn him,'_ she thought. She had hoped that the bondage game had been over by then. It seemed her hopes where unfounded.

He carried her toward one of the mirrors where a pair of handles was placed. He opened the door and entered what she immediately recognized as the bathroom. The whole thing was tiled red and white. The shower had a crystal door with a tub as red as blood to one corner. The whole thing was big enough to fit at least two more people comfortably. There were hangers outside the shower with white and red towels, a red toilet to the other side and a red basin. Sesshoumaru placed her on the sink which made her wonder how the thing didn't break with her weight –not that she was that heavy– and went into the shower and began to fill the tub. He left the bath filling up and went back to her. His first impulse was to fuck her there against the sink for she still looked so damned innocent that it was tempting him; but decided to take it easy even when it was really hard, especially when he took her mouth in his, and her stubborn tongue fought against his one more time. Even with her tied hands, she dared touch his chest and before long Sesshoumaru was hard and ready for another battle with the insatiable tenshi.

Pulling her down from the sink, he turned her around so her ass was waggling around and she had something to lean on. Without waiting any further, he entered her making her moan at his intrusion.–She was ready for him, wet and inviting as he began to trust into her. His pace fastened and he wound one hand under her to play with one breast. The other one held her in place as he forcefully invaded her body getting a very animated response from her. In a desperate attempt to be deeper in her, he got one of her legs and held it up, spreading her enough to take him all the way in.

Too soon for his like, he felt his balls tighten. Knowing that his peak was nearing, he pulled her back to his chest, still holding her leg up, and drove into her. Her small, quivering figure was flushed against him and exposed her neck to him. It was utterly tempting to sink his fangs in that lovely skin but he conformed himself with just kissing and nibbling on it. As he felt her insides fist around him, he almost came undone and bit her inviting neck, but he controlled himself. Her fulfilled cry was heard seconds later and he wasn't far behind as he came into her still shuddering walls.

Taking some time to recover their wits from the fantastic exercise, he took a step back, still holding her since she seemed like falling. Picking her up, he went into the shower to find the tub overflowing with water. Not caring in the least, he entered with her. However, she recoiled at the touch of the water. He barely wondered what was wrong with it before her complaint reached his trained ears.

"It's too cold," she said slightly shivering. He guessed she was right, maybe he should have chosen warm water instead of the ice cold one, but it was too late to change.

"Don't worry, I'll heat you up so you won't even notice that it's cold," he whispered in her ear sending shudders down her spine. He sat her between his legs and began to bath her while he kissed her exposed neck. Such intimate thing was bringing his instincts to the surface once more and he didn't like that this woman was calling forward things that hadn't happened in front of any other female, not even Kagome if he admitted it to himself. Bathing a mate was customary for Inu yokai culture. It showed that they cared for one another and he wondered why the hell it even crossed his mind do such a private thing with her. However, it seemed that his female was ignorant of his culture or she just had no idea what kind of yokai he was. There was a huge possibility it was the second one since she didn't even know who he was. For whatever reason, he needed the super control he always professed in public, but his wild side was not giving him much of an option in anything and soon he found himself lulled into a trance as she helped bath him as well. Her small, tied hands held the soap while she washed his wide, muscled chest. His fangs elongated as his eyes turned a permanent blood chilling crimson. Her black eyes wandered over his perfect physic making him proud that she approved of him and slowly, those sparkly night eyes turned to his face.

She became enthralled in those dangerous eyes that spelled doom for some –to her screamed sexual satisfaction– but she was not afraid. A little smile formed in his thin lips taking her breath away. He looked feral, threatening and extremely sexy as one of his extended fangs showed over his lower lips. She wanted to kiss him even if there was a possibility of losing her mouth forever, it was just too enticing to ignore. Moving slowly forward, still looking into his eyes, she pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. She tasted him as she swept her tongue over his sinful mouth. And even when he never moved or made any attempt to stop her, she continued to press her lips to his.

Sesshoumaru was thinking himself the happiest yokai alive to have a vixen like her in his bed for at least one night. She was temptation personified and, because of that, he couldn't fight against his own nature. Well, if you can't defeat them, join them. And so he did in hopes of being able to control any other unknown that might pop unannounced. But with his instincts running amok, new wicked ideas that would make that night unforgettable flashed in his mind. He told her to position herself in four to which she refused with a scarlet face that contrasted the tiles in the bathroom. He wasn't about to be deterred so he accommodated her in the position he wanted and she didn't like at all. Her back, ass and almost her breast were outside, only the tips of these were in the water. Since she was wet and cold, she was shuddering. Not only that, but she also had a smiling yokai looking at her most private parts, and to top it all up, it was turning her on. She felt his hands move up her thighs and touch her bud, squish it and rub it. She found that eventually it didn't matter how cold the water was, she was getting hotter than the Sahara desert at midday.

As he looked at her well-formed ass, he accidentally knocked down some shampoo bottles with a brusque movement. He didn't have time to pick the little things; however, something caught his eye. There was a bottle of lubricant among the shampoos and soap. The bottle seemed to be sealed and unused in any way. It made him smile at the new possibility he had in his hands. Maaya looked back to see what was stopping him only to see him bend down to retrieve something and give her a smile that froze her in place before trying to scram out of the tub. However, as expected, she was unsuccessful and the big, firm hands of the demon pulled her back into the original position. She was still feeling cold and very much neglect until his tongue rammed into her and his fingers played with her clit. Then, her mental slate was wiped clean and she just remembered how to scream from pleasure. Electricity shots went through her when his tongue brushed against her anus. The sensation wasn't so bad, but she felt reluctant to be touched in such a place. She was about to tell him when he felt him apply something around her hole. She didn't like where this was going and even less so when she felt him introduce his finger up her ass. Still, she moaned as he moved his finger in and out of her narrow entrance and almost melted when he added another one.

She was in a losing battle, if she didn't stop him –which she wasn't so sure she could or wanted to– he would do it to her. She didn't want that, but she was subconsciously praying to him to put his huge shaft inside her once again. Her arms were weakening from so much pleasure, but returned a little to their normal self when he stopped. She looked back and saw him a putting the lubricant over his well-endowed dick.

"No, Aki, please, don't do it, please, no," she begged him but it seemed to make him more determined than before to have his way with her. And those red eyes of his shut her up really fast.

She tried to escape but he was faster and captured her hips in his hands. He steadied her and accommodated himself to thrust into her tight ass. He pushed into her small opening making the walls subside as he made his way in. She gasped and let a strangled yelp escape her mouth as tears fell from her face into the water.

She didn't cared how weak she looked as long as he knew it was hurting her. The pain was so horrendous that she saw nothing for about a minute, she just felt him move inside her, causing heat from the friction between the bodies. After he was all the way in, he pulled his manhood out leaving his tip inside, and pushed into her one more time. Her ass was as tight as her pussy and he liked it even more. He should really thank whoever had left the lubricant there since he was enjoying himself so much. His pace increased and it became forceful as he came nearer to the edge but could do nothing to stop.

He didn't want to stop.

She didn't know how, but she liked how it felt inside her after just two second, it mattered little if she ended up blind as long as he was inside her. It felt so right, so satisfying that she began to think she was becoming an addict. And Kami knew that his body was the best drug invented. Some fleeting thoughts told her that she had to be crazy to enjoy that kind of act, but she couldn't help it, she just did and goddamn it if she wasn't repeating it some other time. She was desperate enough that she even pushed back into him but being unable to match his fast paced, she settled for groaning and coming closer to her delicious and no less explosive end.

Her asshole was tight and hot, strangling his member as he fucked her until she couldn't stand. He was seriously doubting her ability to walk as it was, but that didn't stop him from humping into her while his instincts told him to do another thousand different thing that would surely bind her to him. He disagreed however, but because he was letting them loose, it also helped him keep his nature in a tight leash. He growled lowly as he was reaching his limit. He liked that his bitch was enjoying it just as much, but even with his infinite stamina, he had to release sooner or later. And seconds after, he was shooting his load into her ass just as she came herself and clammed around him, milking him to the last drop.

Once again, they were breathing hard, with scarcely any desire to move but knowing he didn't want to rest in a tub with cold water that would make sick the strongest of yokai. Slowly, he pulled himself out and sat pulling her down with him. His red eyes returning to their original gold as he kissed her neck yet again, feeling as her heart was also slowing down. Getting out of the tub and attaining a red towel, he wrapped it around his exhausted partner.

* * *

**S**he was once again in bed with her back to her lover who was playing with her hair. They hadn't talked since they left the bathroom and he rid her of his belt. Maaya really thought there was nothing to say. She doubted he would want to see her again and she herself wasn't so sure if she agreed or not. But she found no need to disrupt the silence or the gentle touch that was lulling her to sleep until the movement stopped completely. She wondered what had happened so she turned around to find Sesshoumaru's face near her. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and even. He had fallen sleep. Using the opportunity to inspect him carefully –although she didn't dare touch him in case he woke up– she saw the magenta stripes over his eyelids. He was a very beautiful yokai with sharp, hard angles and strong jaw. It gave her the idea of a tiger in a zoo, dangerous to be near of, but beautiful to watch. The demon, she decided, was a lady-killer. He was muscled, not overly so but his arms, chest and abs were well defined. His shoulders were broad and strong with a narrow waist and a very impressive member.

Being unable to contain herself any longer, Maaya outstretch her hand and slowly caressed Sesshoumaru's stomach, trailing her delicate fingers over his pelvis. To her surprise, he growled so low that she almost though he was purring. On his own volition, he moved from his side to his back, giving free passage to Maaya's wandering hands. Not losing another second, she settled near his belly and continued to caress the purring yokai. Her hands eventually came to a growing problem, as she noticed that Sesshoumaru was getting hard. Straying lower towards it, she curiously wrapped a hand around his cock. Subconsciously, he tensed as her hand began to stroke him. On an impulse, she snaked her tongue out and got a fast taste of the mushroom head. The tense figure under her moaned so she guessed he liked it. Taking it as encouragement, her hot mouth took the head in and sucked while her hand moved up and down his shaft. Another shiver ran through his body as she took him all the way until the tip hit the back of her throat and she continued to bob her head.

Before long, Maaya was being watched by the yokai. He had awoken to the pleasure and saw her playing with him. Taking such liberties with his person usually ended badly for the individual but this time he would let it slide. He liked what Maaya was doing so the punishment was going to be different from the usual as he silently watched her pleasure him. However, one really good suck on her part made him groan loud enough that got her attention and looked into his blazing red eyes. She blushed terribly when she noticed she was being watched. He simply smirked.

"Naughty hina," he huskily chastised but he didn't mean it. "I think this calls for punishment," he added as her round pit black eyes got lost in the redness of his own.

Picking her up and carrying her until he stood in front of the mirror, he opened her legs. Her core was glistering wet and her nether lips were sore. From embarrassment, she tried to close her legs but the strong arms that held her didn't budge so she averted her eyes from the mirrors. However, for some strange reason, they always strayed back to her naked figure. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

"Don't have to be shy," he murmured, breathing into her ear and nibbling on it "Remember I've seen it all". It didn't take long for him to trail kisses down her neck and forget his original plan. While still holding Maaya, one of his hands moved to cup her breast. Moving closer to the mirror, he pressed her against it and guided his erection into her. Maaya gasped since she wasn't that wet and her wall were sensitive from all the previous action. Sesshoumaru simply groaned as his other hand went to play with her clit. His mouth never left her collarbone as he slowly entered her, giving her body the chance to lubricate itself without causing too much hurt. With several controlled deep strokes that touched some sensitive parts, she was ready for some fast paced action and he didn't wait more than necessary to fuck the lights out of her. "Oh Kami, you are so tight," he exclaimed moving faster and deeper but it wasn't enough by a long shot. Turning her around, her legs automatically surrounded his hips as he continued to trust into her core. Her arms encircled his neck to hold herself up and he listened to her passionate cried for more and harder.

Desperately searching for his mouth as he crushed her between the mirror and his pleasure giving body, she closed her eyes and moaned when another stroke hit home. Her body vibrated with awareness as his hand roughly grabbed one of her breast and pinched her nipple.

"Aki," she groaned feeling her body enjoy the little pain he caused. "Ak…" She tried to call but Sesshoumaru's tongue entered her lightly parted lips and provoked her to fight back his dominance. That mouth of his always made her dizzy and feeling his cock go in and out of her wasn't helping to prolong the sweet moment. As another stroke threaten to throw her over the edge, she dug her nails in his back leaving and angry trails as she tried to keep herself from coming.

Sesshoumaru wasn't faring any better. When she called that damned name he almost stopped before barely remembering she was calling him. It didn't mean he like the name any better than he did five minutes ago when he didn't even remember who he was, but he was copping in a very delicious way. By accident he prickled her lower lip and now he was sucking the little drops of blood he could get from the small injury. The lazy shocks that sent though his body as soon as he came in contact with it, spurred his strokes to such a degree that his pace was losing its rhythm and was becoming jerkier. He felt he was getting nearer to his end and had to pay more attention to the place where they were joining together than in sucking her succulent lower lip. As she felt her walls tensing around his member the need to bite something made itself present. Her almost closed eyes changed to baby blue and, because of the sexual bliss she found herself in, she didn't feel her canines shifting and growing longer. Without thinking at all, she pulled herself toward Sesshoumaru's exposed neck and, after kissing and nibbling on it, she sank her new attained fangs into his collarbone drawing his blood into her body. The wild metallic taste was like dynamite and C-4 together, a powerful and devastating force that blew her away.

The demon felt her teeth bite into his skin, and felt her incisors press down but knowing they were too blunt to draw blood, he didn't bother with it and just enjoyed the ride as her wall once again clammed around him and in a last, powerful trust, he came in her not noticing the scent of blood that permeated the air. By the time he gathered himself, Maaya was limp against his chest. The punctures left behind by her canines were long gone along with the scent of blood. She didn't have enough energy to lift a finger so she just lay against him leaving him to his own devices.

With a very satisfied smile, Sesshoumaru went to the bathroom and got a towel to clean her. After that, he left her to rest while he took another cold shower. He still had a lot of energy but he knew that she had lasted longer that the experience partners he had had before. The tenshi was impressive all right. So impressive in fact, that his body was still clamoring to be inside her once more time. He wanted her badly, but that was all he was going to get for the time being. He had thought that one night was going to be enough to get her out of his system but it was turning out to not be the case. If he was a little truthful with himself he would admit that he had liked her from the beginning. Hiten didn't have to point her out to him, he had already checked her as a possible partner. He was beginning to think of her as his and got jealous when he thought of any other man taking her. He knew she was not attached to anybody, but he didn't know the future and things could obviously change in little time. Shaking his head to dispel the depressing thoughts, he laid next her. He still had two hours before leaving for work, and even if hadn't had a decent sleep for a while, he would rather look at her than sleep at all.

* * *

**A/N**

This was the first lemon I had written but, although acceptable, I decided that it could be better so I changed some things, again. As many might have noticed in the first chapter, Sesshoumaru has no longer a beast. I really don't like when he has a serious Multiple Personality Disorder so I took it out. From now on, that part of him that might control him at times will be called his instinct, nature and anything else that refers to having powerful and hard to control urges. Don't forget, Sesshoumaru is a dog, a smart one with human characteristics but a dog nonetheless and so he has doggy urge e.g. belly rubbing. In the coming chapters some information will change because of this, but the story in itself is the same.

_Seleni Argyrios_


	3. Chapter 3

**Vocabulary**

Nara – A city found in the prefecture of Nara in central Honshu, Japan

Kyoto – A city found in the prefecture of Kyoto in central Honshu, Japan

Kurobara – Black Rose

Okayama – A city in the prefecture of Okayama to the south in Honshu, Japan

Horai-jima – An island in the Anime Inuyasha found in the fourth movie Fire in the Mystic Island where all the action occurs

Sensei – Goes after the name of a person who is a teacher or a doctor. It can be used alone without the last or first name of the person, literally translated as teacher or professor. Example: Kakachi-sensei

Ohayou Gozaimasu – Good Morning (Formal)

Arigatou – Thanks (Informal)

Inu Yokai – Dog Demon

Kaminari – Lighting, it also describes thunder (I'm not sure, but I've seen it used as one or both of them)

Taiyokai – Great Demon

Kannon Suijin – This name I create it from two parts. First part is the surname Kannon which I chose in honor of the water goddess by the same name. She is also the goddess of childbirth. The second part is Suijin which also refers to a water god. However, in Japan there are many water gods that use the name Suijin but is the only one Kannon. In this case I used the name of one of the character from Inuyasha who was an imprisoned water goddess

Keishi – Superintendent

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

Warning 

Adult Content

18+

Rated M for (ESS) Explicit Sexual Scenes and (N) Nudity

**Chapter 3: Consequences**

**A** mischievous sun ray infiltrated through the curtains and precisely hit her sleeping face. Still in dreamland, she moved her hand to cover her face from the impertinent gleam and slowly opened her eyes. Her surroundings were unknown to her and the bed was soft and big, nothing like her small one. _'Where am I?'_ She asked her sleep fogged mind. She looked around noticing the mirrored walls and the huge red sheet that covered and it came back to her, particularly the yokai from the night before and his ministration making her face burn red from embarrassment. She wondered what her friends would say about this, but decided not to go there. She wouldn't bear the teasing that would come after.

She wondered what time it was and looked at the little table next to her; however, she didn't see a clock anywhere as she scanned the rest of the room. Maybe it had fallen the night before. She signed as the images of the previous night returned with a vivid clarity to her head. Kami, she never thought she would do such a daring thing. But never mind that, she needed to leave since she didn't know how late it was. She didn't want anybody telling her to get her ass out the door or to pay for her stay when her account was suffering as it was.

She made her way to the side of the bed and tried to stand, but as soon as she positioned her feet in the floor she couldn't keep herself standing and her feet gave out after taking three wobbly steps. She had no idea what had happened. Sure she felt a little sore here and there. Ok, maybe a lot, but not enough to not walk. So why in hell she couldn't stand? It had been her first time so maybe that had to do with it. Also, the many times they had done it had to count for something. And that huge erection of his had to add some weight to the equation. So, yeah, she had a pretty good idea of why she could hardly walk but it didn't help her much. How was she supposed to leave the stupid hotel? Maybe going back to bed was the best option, besides she was feeling tired once again since she had slept very little. Looking down at her naked body, she saw the remainder of a night of great sex. Between her thighs little bite marks of an angry red color were healing fast. Her hips were also scratched and diminutive punctures were visible around her belly bottom most likely made by his claws. Her nipples were swollen from his exquisite bites and squishes and she really didn't want to look down there. If the soreness was any indication, she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

Standing slowly, she managed to stumble back into the bed and cover herself. It took her a while but she made it. Feeling the soft fabric of the sheets over her body reminded her that she was naked. How she was going to leave if she had nothing to wear? That only served to keep her awake even when her eyes where closing themselves. She shouldn't have let him shred her favorite blouse in the hallway, he surely could have waited the time it took her to take it off but he had not done that. He had to be barbaric about it as if the poor clothe represented a thread to his security. Yeah, it would keep him away from her boobs, obviously dangerous business. He should have thought about her instead of satisfying his macho instincts.

A knock on the door distracted her from that line of thought. There was no way she was opening that door. She was bare and could hardly move so she was not moving.

"Room service," said the voice of a woman behind the door.

"Ehm… could you come in, I'm unable to move," she almost screamed and hoped that the woman would hear her. She heard the door unlock and be opened from the other side. In came a low level yokai with a cart with her breakfast. How she knew the onna was a demon, she had no idea since the female had regular black hair, brown eyes and round human ears. But there was something that gave the woman away. Maaya had no idea what could it be.

The maid hid a sneer. She knew who had been in that room, after all, that hot piece of yokai was a regular in their hotel; not including famous all over Japan and maybe the whole world. He was a powerful demon, that Sesshoumaru, but the maid didn't understand what he found attractive about the stinky, ugly humans. She was jealous, she admitted. Who wouldn't be after seeing the new woman so thoroughly fucked, satisfaction radiating off of her? And even the maid's lowly self, wanted what the ningen had had. What did the onna had that she, a full blooded yokai, not powerful per se, but pure bred, didn't capture the attention of the great taiyokai. There was something seriously wrong with him, she knew but decided to say nothing. Instead, she kept her professional appearance.

"Ma'am, I was told to inform you that you can use the room until you want to leave," the maid said looking down at the woman who blushed furiously. The yokai didn't expect that and almost scowled at the ningen. There was no way to convince her that that woman wasn't a whore. "The gentleman that spent the night with you paid for another day. Also, he left clothes for you, he said you would need it." Maaya couldn't erase the blush that turned a deeper red with the way the woman was eyeing her. She really couldn't blame the maid for assuming she was a prostitute. She guessed she looked like one and all thanks to Aki.

"Thanks for everything. Could you please bring me the clothes? And I would like a pain reliever," she told the maid trying not to look at her fake brown eyes that watched her with contempt. "And I'll leave as soon as I can, I don't want to bother anyone more than necessary".

"If I were you I would stay until they threw me out." The maid looked at her to emphasize her point. To her, Maaya was nothing more than a hooker so acting as a timid virgin didn't impress her in the least. It was all a plan, she conjectured, to spend another night in their hotel. After seeing the face Maaya made at the comment, the maid got ready to leave and added, "He also asked for your breakfast. I'll bring it to you in a second."

The woman carried from the cart a tray with coffee, bread, sausage, eggs and butter. Maaya's stomach rumbled at the sight of food. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until the maid had mentioned it.

"Thanks," Maaya said as the maid placed the platter in front of her. The yokai didn't answer immediately and prepared to leave.

"I'll be back with the pain killer," was the only comment the onna added before leaving Maaya to eat.

Minutes later, the woman was back with water and the pill. Maaya had cleaned the plates by then and after drinking the capsule, she cuddled herself in the bed ready to go back to sleep. The maid said nothing as she picked the tray and left with the cart.

Once again, Maaya was left to her own devices but, with nothing to do, thoughts about the woman assailed her head. She had seen the charmed purple earring that hung from the woman's ear making her look human. She felt the small amount of power radiating off the trinket but she didn't understand how she could feel the energy when before she could not. It was intriguing, especially when she could have sworn that she also felt some of the emotions the yokai experience. It looked a lot like jealousy but Maaya wasn't sure. It made little sense since the woman seemed professional; however, Maaya knew that deep down, that demon wanted to be where she was. It didn't matter if the maid thought she was a tramp and a gold-digger and Maaya knew that beside the impression she gave, the yokai was envious. Of what, was beyond her, but that 'it' was enough to gain the maid's animosity.

Feeling her eyes begin to drop, her thoughts shifted toward another direction, Aki. _'What could he be doing right now?' _Maaya thought as she snuggled in the red mattress. _'Maybe kissing his mate'_. Opening her eyes wide before letting them close again as she pushed the thought away and began to fall sleep deciding to forget the male instead of thinking what could have been.

* * *

**I**n the other side of Kyoto, a taiyokai found himself passing though his office. He looked at the pile of papers to sign and grunted. His company was having problems. Somebody had tried to hack into his system and had failed miserably, but still had tried. He needed to find who had dared to cross the line, and whoever that was, it was going to pay dearly for trying to hurt his company in some way. Deciding that wearing out the carpet wasn't an option; he went to the intercom and pressed a button.

"Kuyaku, are they here yet?" He asked for the third time in less than ten minutes.

"No milord, they haven't arrived yet," answered a feminine voice.

"Let them in when they come," he informed her.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama, as you wish," she said as he hanged up.

He had called Inuyasha and told him what had happened, and the ingrate just brushed it off as the most normal thing in the world. He had yelled at him and told him to get his ass there in that moment. In his anger, he slammed the darn phone down breaking it to pieces. He didn't feel any better though, more like it bothered him, since his brother was right for a change; and now he had to find Seiten. He could have let his secretary call him, but he needed to get out of the office, he felt it was really small and was considering making it bigger.

It took him a few minutes to find Seiten, and he mentally thanked him for being at his usual place, it saved him time and frustration. He told him that he needed a new phone since the other had met his demise a little earlier than expected. In his way back to his office he told his personal assistance to contact Kouga, he wanted to know who had tried to hack in his system and why.

After an hour, almost everything was under control, the only thing left was the meeting with Hiten, but they knew each other and the contract was a good one, he had to admit so himself. His company didn't have any legal problems and his enemies had quiet down for a while. Yet, there was something that had been in his mind all the time. That woman, the tenshi he had spent the night with. He had no way to put it, but he felt he had to see her again even when he knew that he wasn't going to and she had no lead to find him. It was something inside, an instinctual thing that ordered him to protect and possess her, that she was his. But it didn't make sense to him and he wasn't going to do anything about it. That didn't stop him from thinking of her and the few hours they had spent together though, and that brought a small smile to his features.

He remembered with great clarity as he lay next to her while waiting for the sun to rise. He knew it would be in less than an hour, so he waited. Once again he looked at the sleeping face of the woman cuddled at his side. She was beautiful. He kept repeating to himself she wasn't Kagome, even if her hair and white skin were the same color. He smelled her. 'No, certainly not Kagome' he told himself. This onna's smell was heightened and warm, not bad in anyway, especially if it was a strong smell of dew mingled with wild berries that reminded him of the clean wilderness of his youth. Kagome's was sweeter with a tint of vanilla in it. He placed his head in the pillow and let her scent fill his lungs. It was calming and comforting, he felt like smelling her forever.

About an hour later, he woke up. At first he didn't know why but one look around told him everything he needed to know. He was hard again and the scent coming from his companion was spicy. She moaned and signed in her sleep and pressed herself against him, her firm ass pushing into his crotch and moving around constantly. There was so much he could do to keep himself from touching her, and none of those reasons persuaded him enough to stop. So, pulling the sheets that were wrapped around her legs, he began to nip her neck. Then he captured a breast with his hand and played with her nipple but that didn't last long as the tip of his hard on pocked a little into her wet folds sending an electric charge through his body. He didn't bother to change position and, still on her side with her back to him, he plunged into her waiting slit. A pleasured moan escaped her lips almost making him think he had awaken her, but it was a few minutes later that she woke, writhing and gasping as he entered her in a slow torturous pace before pulling his whole length out and repeating the process again. She didn't move much from her position, and he guessed she was too exhausted to do anything at all even when she was the reason why he was humping her again. But with a satisfied cry later and a grunt of his part, they came fast and hard. This time he didn't bother to remove himself from her, and as he expected, they made love once more before resting some more.

When Sesshoumaru woke up again, an annoying sound was piercing his ears. Disoriented, he looked around and saw a black alarm clock in the table that flashed in big red numbers 12:30. He was super late for work, but that was the last thing that swept through his mind when he felt someone stir at his side. As fast he could he pulled the cord out of its place and threw the irritating thing in the waste can.

He got out of bed and saw her move his way looking for his warmth. He almost chuckled, but was able to stop himself. He didn't want her awake when he left, he wasn't sure he could stop himself from taking her again if that was the case. Besides, she looked so adorable that he was considering doing it then as well. The woman's scent was pulling his control with invisibles strings, but steeling himself against the delicious influence, he dressed and reached for the door. Before leaving, he looked back. 'She still smells of me', he thought. Not being able to control himself and allowing this last show of interest on her person, he went to her side and kissed her lips lightly. It was the last kiss he would give Maaya, he knew that before he opened the door and left for good.

Going away from the room and stopping to wait for the elevator made him relive the previous night. Even as he stopped at the front desk, memories of their arrival at the hotel haunted him. This time, however, the clerk was different. This one he had never seen before not that he had stayed that long prior to that day. Sesshoumaru hoped that this man was not as irritating as the other even if they looked nothing alike beside the dull gray uniform.

"I would like to keep the room for another night," he said his face not giving anything away.

"Very well, sir, what's the room number?" The new clerk asked while he looked at the computer. His brown eyes behind a pair of rectangular framed glasses focused on his work.

"305," Sesshoumaru answered.

"Do you need anything else sir?" The human inquired looking at the yokai with a smile in those dull chestnut eyes.

"Yes, I need clothes." He was getting impatient.

"There is a store two blocks away from here. It's easy to find, just go south," flipping his bangs out of his eyes, the clerk pointed to the opposite direction while smiling amicably to the customer who looked at him strangely.

"I want the clothes delivered to my room, and some food as well," ignoring the directions the man had given since it was obvious the ningen lacked any kind of directional sense, Sesshoumaru ready himself to leave only to be stopped by the man again.

"Of course, sir, what would you like in your order?" The idiotic clerk replied. Sesshoumaru was finding this one to be more annoying than the other but refrained from saying anything and concentrating on getting out of there as fast as possible. He told the ningen what he wanted and left to find the store.

In fifteen minutes he had returned with a bag full of garments. Sesshoumaru had seen so many things that would fit her that he couldn't contain himself and got some of them, besides he didn't know what she liked and he did have a good sense for clothes. He left the bag with the clerk and walked toward his white Mercedes Benz.

From his car he called his Personal Assistant and told her to change his schedule. If something went wrong to call him and that he would be arriving in about two hours. With that he hung up and went to his house. Once there, he took a shower, drank his coffee and left. When he arrived to his office, his desk was full of forms to sign. He sat down and began to skimming through them.

What else could he do? The Kyoto Branch was new, and needed a lot of his attention. The division was dedicated to the installment of alarms at houses and businesses. The Nara Branch also included bodyguard services. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do the same there when most of his clients were yokai that wanted to make sure humans stayed away from their homes, and rich people who wanted to keep away thieves and paparazzi. It was doing fine for a new business, but he wanted everything to go as smooth as possible. That's why he sought to add health benefits for his costumers and workers since some of them were human and for the rare case it was a yokai.

He also owned a wine branch called Kurobara. It only sold to yokai since it had certain dubious ingredients. It was unique and old, but famous and well-liked by those who tasted it. And he knew why, it was so strong that even a yokai could be drunk within a few minutes. His mother had made it so even the best of drinkers were intoxicated after a while. Consequently, he recreated the beverage to fit its new purpose. True, the one he sold was milder than the original, but still was strong enough to cause some damage.

Added to that was the Taisho Exportation Company created by his father that had passed it down to him and Inuyasha when he died. And he had a hidden vacationing spot for yokai and their mates near the coast of Okayama. It was called Horai-jima Resort and was doing well, too. However, business was not the only thing Sesshoumaru did. After all, he was also the West Dignitary and had half of Honshu under his reign. Although that title didn't carry as much power as it used to, he was still considered the most powerful of the Lords and involved in the politics of the lands. He was expected to control those yokai under his rule and help in the fight for the acceptance of his race. With all that came a lot of work, work that didn't disappear by itself, so he went back to revise the papers until he heard somebody making a ruckus at his door, an obvious trade mark of his hanyou half-brother. Inuyasha barged in saying a couple or more obscenities before getting to the important part.

"What's so important that you got me out of bed?" He asked in his usual loud voice.

"Tune it down Inuyasha, I'm not in the mood to listen to you blabber," said Sesshoumaru coldly.

Actually, he didn't need Inuyasha for anything. He just wanted to annoy the heck out of him. He just didn't know how to go about it yet. He knew Inuyasha must have been awake all night since he owned several mixed night clubs. They were very popular for hanyou so fights were common place. Inuyasha was always around to avoid the West Police from getting involved in his business, which most of the time was a lost cause that took him all night to take care of. Besides his brother owning the club, Sesshoumaru found everything else to be rather nice, and it was one of the places he went regularly. Still, he didn't care if the hanyou hadn't sleep at all, Inuyasha had stocks in his company and he would appreciate if he at least worked two hours. He would have ditched him of his part if his father hadn't made him promised not to cheat Inuyasha out of his inheritance. He had been foolish to agree to such demands, it wasn't worth it.

With Inuyasha's interruption, his instincts shut up and left him to work in peace. And even when night came, the clamoring for the female of the previous night had calmed down to a buzz. Eventually he also forgot about her. However, the hum was ever present.

* * *

**T**wo months had passed since the night she had met the silver haired yokai. And she was getting ready to go to the same club looking for him again. It would be the third time she tried and still nothing, apparently, he didn't exist or, after that night, the earth swallowed him. She was beginning to think both, since she looked for him in the police database and nothing came up. This only told her that he had lied to her and she was stupid enough to belief him. Although there was the far up change that he wasn't in the database as improbable as that sounded. However, she would try one more time, for her child's sake, and a little bit for the father. She just felt like she owed it to him. It didn't matter if he didn't want to be part of their lives. She could take care of the baby by herself.

She put on a beige skirt that stopped a little over her knees and choose a pale yellow top that was loose enough to cover her growing belly. She added a pair of white flip-flops, a little pink eyeliner and gold earrings. She let her black hair loose and covered her lips with a light lip-gloss. She was ready to go, but stopped to put some perfume on as she remembered for the thousandth time the day she had woken up in the fancy hotel room.

She didn't like that it was that late, she had hoped she would be awake before nightfall. Not much she could do about that. She stood up carefully; she didn't want to fall again. Once she was sure she was going to be ok she made her way to the bathroom. She needed to take a shower since that morning she wasn't able to. Inside, she opened the faucet, put it in warm and waited until the tub was full. When she deemed it full enough, she poured some lavender salts she found and stepped in letting the water caress her skin and take away some of the remaining soreness.

After she spent twenty minutes in there, she came out. It had been the most relaxing bath she had taken in a long time with her job and studies she had little time to enjoy her soak time. She went to the room and found a bag full of clothes over a chair in the corner. She couldn't believe it. The man had to be rich indeed because the clothes there had to cost more than a few hundred bucks. Although she didn't know for sure since he had taken the price tags off. She thought the action was really sweet but totally unnecessary. Then again, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Opening the bag, she took out of the bag a pair of jeans. It came with a tank top, hoop earrings and a one of a kind pair of sneakers. After that, a beautiful red dress with a floor length skirt which had an alluring front slit that stopped at mid-thigh. It had a plunging neckline and a black belt at the waist with crossed back straps of the same color. It was accompanied by a pair of gold earrings and bracelet. And finally, a black miniskirt with a black laced corset top. The clothes were so beautiful that she didn't know how to thank him. Although she wasn't sure she would have the chance.

She decided to wear the jeans and top, and left the room. She made sure to stop in the front desk and tell them her room was free before leaving.

She walked toward her silver Mazda, opened the door and got in. Turned the car on and shifted the gear. She left wondering if this time she would have any luck. She could remember Hitomiko's reaction when she found out she was pregnant and let's not talk about the others, her friends hadn't been that easy to handle.

Two weeks had passed since the encounter. She was still happy and had said nothing to her friends. They knew something had happened and had tried, unsuccessfully, to get some answers from her. The only exception was Miroku who has a knowing glint in his eyes but never really participated in her interrogation. And those who asked always encountered her evasiveness since she wouldn't tell them until the right moment, and that would take a long time to come.

As of late, she had been more tired than usual and had gone home earlier to rest. As the week ended, she had headaches and was somewhat nauseous. She just added it to the fact that she had been overworking herself. However, the symptoms got worse and her breast had also become more sensitive. By the third week she couldn't stand without puking her breakfast, lunch and dinner, which she hadn't eaten yet. And she had to go to the bathroom, every once in a while, to pee and/or puke.

During the Monday break, Mi approached her with the hopes of getting something out of her suffering friend and noticed Maaya had gained some weight making her belly look rounder. The dark haired miko was sure something had happened when they had convinced her to go clubbing, she just didn't know what and really didn't want to consider what her mind was implying.

"Are you ok?" Hitomiko asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm all right," her friend answered. Maaya looked tired and temperamental effectively keeping others from bothering her. But as always, Mi just couldn't stay quiet.

"Now, don't tell me that, don't forget I know you too well. So, what's wrong with you?" She requested again hoping to get an answered.

"Nothing," Maaya tried to avoid it.

"Oh Come on, do we have to go through this every time? Just tell me, please," she begged her.

"I told you, it's no big deal. I'm not feeling well, it's just the flu or something," she said waiving her hand so the topic was dismissed the topic.

It wasn't long before she was running toward the bathroom again receiving worried looks as she went. Kaede saw her past her office so fast that she couldn't help wonder what had happened this time. If it was Miroku again she would make sure to talk to Sango, her husband needed to learn a lesson.

"Hitomiko, what's wrong with Maaya?" She asked the miko who was following her friend.

"I have no idea Kaede-keishi, she said she just had the flu, but I don't think it's that simple," responded the girl.

"What do you mean?" The aged woman asked.

"She has been tired and feeling nauseous since last week," said the miko. "And I don't think it's cold related."

"Why would you think that?" Kaede inquired.

"Two weeks ago she went clubbing and didn't return home until the next day at night. I'm worried she followed the advice the pervert gave her," added Hitomiko.

"I don't want to know what he recommended. Did she say something about it?" The old miko requested.

"No, but she has been too happy for her own good, like she met Prince Charming and rode his horse," she said looking closely at Kaede-keishi's face went she said that. She wasn't disappointed at the reaction when she opened her eyes wide. Kaede had to wonder what children learned in school these days.

They headed toward the bathroom and found a weary Maaya leaning in the toilet wiping her vomit out of her lips. She looked like she hadn't had any sleep recently and was ready to black out.

"Are you ok, child?" She was asked for the second time.

"Yeah, Kaede-keishi, it's just the flu," she answered.

"Sorry to say this sister, but it doesn't look like the flu to me," interrupted Hitomiko.

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

"It seems you are… How they say? Yeah, knocked up," said Miroku who was seen everything from his cubicle not less amuse than the previous days. "My beautiful Sango was the same when she was pregnant, too tired to do anything. She couldn't even stand…" He kept babbling on with shiny eyes. They could bet he was hoping to do that again.

"What?" She said sharply. "What do you mean by pregnant?"

"He means as in you are going to have a baby pretty soon. Now, who was the lucky bastard?" Hitomiko smiled at her accusingly.

"Calm down, we don't know for certain yet, but I would like you to go and check up in case Miroku is right. Now, child, how is this possible? I thought you didn't have a boyfriend," asked Kaede.

"Well, I don't. So, I know for certain that is a cold, yeah a simple old common cold," she said trying to convince herself.

However, they wouldn't drop it and made her go to see a doctor. She had to admit the symptoms where misleading, but she was sure it was just a stupid cold or something like it. Still, they didn't listen to silly excuses and got her an appointment at Kaminari Health Institute. She knew it was one of the best places to go to and it had human and yokai services.

Hitomiko was going with her, in case she needed moral support which she was sure wasn't necessary and to keep trying to pry some information out of her since she hadn't denied about sleeping with somebody. She knew she should have said something to make them think otherwise, but what was the point, they wouldn't believe her anyway.

They had made an appointment with Kannon Suijin, a water god and one of the best doctors in her field. Still, Maaya wasn't so sure she wanted to be there, even if the Kami was specialized in human pregnancy. In the little chance that she was pregnant, her baby would be a hanyou, so she shouldn't be in this side, but on the empty room next door. Except she could go there with Mi next to her, she hadn't told her friend that the man she had been with was a yokai, and if possible she wanted to avoid telling her that. However, Maaya needed to know for sure and sitting there waiting wasn't an option. She stood up and told her best friend to wait for a while, that she needed to go to the bathroom and used the chance to escape to the empty saloon next to the one she had been in. It was small with only three chairs and no secretary. She went to the door and knocked. Nobody answered. She was sure she had seen in the pamphlet that Itou-sensei worked that day.

"Oh, I didn't know I had a patient today," said a sweet voice behind her.

She turned around to see a woman in a doctor's coat. Her white hair reached her shoulders and her lavender eyes were mesmerizing. After looking at her, Maaya knew the woman was a hanyou. The absence of marking in her face and her round ears were confusing but no human had that shade of tan and very few dotted that hair and eye color at the same time.

"Well, I didn't have an appointment," she said.

"Don't worry, as you can see, I don't have many patients today, so come in," Itou-sensei said entering her office. "Please, take a seat." Maaya took the seat offered her. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I haven't been feeling well recently, so my friends and co-workers made me come here saying I was pregnant. I'm sure it's just a cold, but they insisted so much that I came," replied the girl in front of her. It seemed that she was in an early denial phase.

"Well, do you want me to do the test or just tell you right now all you need to know?" Shiori asked hoping for the later.

"No, I would like to do the test," replied Maaya wanting to delay the results as much as possible.

"Ok," said Shiori accepting the woman's choice and somewhat understanding her fear. She went to a cabinet and got a tub, a syringe, alcohol and cotton ball. "Give me your arm," she ordered. She cleaned the spot on her arm with the alcohol, inserted the needle in her arm and drew the blood into the tub, which she labeled to be sent to the labs. "The results will be ready by tomorrow, so I would recommend stopping by in the morning. We will talk then. But before that, I need you to fill out this form with your name, contact number, address and others. When you are done, give it to me and I'll see you tomorrow," she said with a smile in her face.

When she got out, she saw Hitomiko was waiting for her. Neither of them said anything, there was no need, Mi was mad and she knew the reasons. Her friend hated yokai with a passion and Maaya hadn't been truthful about her clubbing night.

The next day she was early for her appointment. This time alone and wanting to know as much as the others did if she was pregnant or not since she wasn't feeling any better and she didn't have a fever or runny nose.

"Itou-sensei, ohayou gozaimasu," she called when she saw a white head pass by.

"Ohayou, how have you been?" Shiori asked concerned. She knew that things would get worse.

"A little tired, but everything else is fine," she said.

"I'm on my way to get the lab results. You can wait in my office while I get them," she told her.

"Arigatou, Itou-sensei," she said and went to wait for the doctor.

Twenty minutes later Shiori was back with a positive pregnancy test. Maaya couldn't believe it. She was screwed, how could she take care of a baby? Her income wasn't enough for her even less for another one. She blamed herself for her own stupidity. She shouldn't have believed what the bastard had told her. But, it didn't matter anymore. Shiori's voiced still echoed in her head when the doctor told her the 'good news'.

"Maaya, your test came out to be positive. You are in your third week of pregnancy. I would like you to come back next week to make sure everything is ok with the pup. If anything happen while you're at home, don't get scare, since it has demon blood, the time and changes will be different than the regular ones. By the smell I can say it's an Inu yokai so the pregnancy time would be between 4 to 5 months. I know this is hard for you but don't do anything drastic. Ok?"

She wasn't sure she could handle something like this; it was too big for her little world. She sat in the bench in front of the Institute and began to cry. She looked at the brochures she had in her hands, it had abortion in white letters and talked something about the procedures they used. Even if it pained her she had to do something, she just didn't know what.

As she parked in front of the club, she tried not to cry. That had been the worst day of her life, and the decision she had made was not the right one. She knew it in her heart that she couldn't kill a life that had no fault whatsoever in everything that was going on. However, it had taken her sometime to realize that, and she almost committed a crime. Thanks goodness for having such a good friend. Mi, had stopped her from doing it when she was about to enter the room. She told her that her friend was more important than anything, that she didn't care who the father was as long as her friend trusted her enough to confide in her. She even begged her to stop at that moment. She also knew it was too dangerous, but didn't want to admit that it could cost her more than she was willing to give.

After that, Hitomiko was kind enough and listened to her story, and only after, she screamed at her for trying to do something so stupid. She smiled and thanked her for being there for her. And told her she would try to find the father of her son, at least he had the right to know. And she kept her promise.

She entered the club and received several glances. Not paying any attention to them she made her way to bar and once again. She saw the bartender, the same hanyou from the first time she had been there, serving a drink to a red eyed yokai before heading her way. She was not surprise when he stared at her belly since she looked to be five month pregnant and warily took a sniff at her. She knew he wasn't going to get anything from that. Shiori-sensei had ordered Mi to place a barrier around her to avoid any curious yokai from finding out she was expecting a hanyou.

"Have you seen him?" She asked him.

"What do you mean, madam," he countered. He knew who she was, he had heard the rumors flying around the bar but he didn't know it was _her_.

"Don't play dumb, you know what I mean. You were here that night and that yokai was certainly a regular, so don't tell me you don't know him," Maaya snapped at him. It was frustrating. Every time she came it was always the same. They didn't know anyone who looked like that. They had never heard of Musashi Aki before. And they knew for certain that he was not a regular costumer of their establishment. It was all bullshit, but she had nothing to prove them wrong.

"Look lady, it seems you are in a pretty bad situation but I don't know much about him. He never gave a name and I didn't ask him. Besides, he hasn't returned here for more than a month," replied the man gently. Maaya seemed to be ready to cry at this news and didn't notice the guilty face the hanyou made when her black eyes blinked repeatedly to stop the tears. She knew she had been stupid for even harboring any hopes of finding this man but she just couldn't stop.

"I see, well… if he ever appears around here again, give him this card with my phone number. If not, then throw it away," Maaya said before placing the business card on the counter and leaving the place not even waiting for his answer.

The hanyou didn't feel any better and his conscience was doing wonders to him since she had disappeared in the crowd. Deciding to help her a little, he headed toward the man he had been serving before and explained to him the situation. This one, however, only nodded and put the card in the inner pocket of his grey jacket before finishing his cup and also leaving the club.

* * *

**A/N**

Finally, third chapter has been fixed. It's nothing big but I believe it has made it a whole lot better. A little more details added here and there but nothing new like previous chapters except for the Intel in Sesshoumaru's position. Not only is he rich, he is also a politician. Maybe later on I'll explain better the situation in this world, but suffice to say that human and yokai relations are as always strained.

_Seleni Argyrios_


	4. Chapter 4

**Vocabulary**

Shikon no Tama – Jewel of Four Souls

Okaa-san – Mother

Koucho – Principal

Hotel Granvia Kyoto – A five star hotel in Kyoto, Japan

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

**Chapter 4: Good and Bad Things**

**T**en weeks had passed after she had given up on finding the yokai that had left her pregnant. Ever since the day she had gone back to her house with nothing but anger at her own stupidity, she had not been allowed to leave until the intended day. Shiori-sensei had recommended for her to stay put for three good reasons. One, she was carrying a hanyou pup. Two, other full yokai didn't like half-demons and regarded them as way beneath the dirt in their shoes. If they found out she was expecting one and thanks to their noses they would they could try to kill her and the one of the many shame of the demon race. And three, Maaya was not mated. If she got in an ugly situation, there was no one to protect her and her child. She had had to agree but hadn't liked the idea at all. However, her friends had decided for her and secluded her in her own apartment with Mi in charge of getting whatever she needed.

The bright side of her imprisonment had been the enormous amount of time she had to do whatever she wanted, except going out. So she had done what was most important thing at that moment and read books. She had learned about yokai law, their customs, anatomy and others. But the thing that got her attention was how unusual her situation was.–The process of impregnating a female from whichever species was harder than it looked. First, a yokai always knew by the scent when the female was in heat or fertile so if there had been any possibility of having a child at all, then her lover knew. And two, a human female wasn't made to receive a yokai's powerful sperm and a human male's sperm wasn't powerful enough to fecundate a female yokai's egg. A human male impregnating a female yokai was the rarest one so far. Such a male had to be really powerful and they were, in most cases, monks whose spiritual powers exceeded the norm. Also, the only way for a weak human female to have a yokai's child would be if they mated. Usually the mating bite was place in the juncture between the neck and the shoulder with some of their yoki fused into the bloodstream for a mark to be created, which also provoked a slight change in the scent. There were cases where the mark was place in other body parts but there was always a mark, even when the instincts overrode the rational part of the yokai a mark was left. But she had no such thing. No even something resembling a birth mark. And believe her, when she found out about the possibility, she took the time to search every possible place where a mark could be.

From then on, she believed that she was among the strong ningen females who could support a hanyou child with no danger to her life. It didn't make her feel any better because there were many loose strings but she would do with what she had, like the little bundle at her side. Her child had been born that morning after a hellish night but she was happy. The pup looked so much like his father that was uncanny. He had a puff of silver hair at the top of the head that was as smooth as the fines of silks and shiny as sunrays. His little hands had small claws and his elfish ears were a mini version of his father's. And still, he managed to give off an aura of innocence unknown to appear in any yokai. His eyes were still close and she knew they wouldn't open for a couple of days. In his forehead was the lilac crescent moon and on his cheek a silver stripe that was barely visible against his marble skin appeared.

"Yuu," she said to herself, "Yuu is your name little one".

She felt him get more at ease at her side and continue his nap. He had not been fed and that worried her. She knew yokai weren't like humans, but she wondered if it was right not to feed him. She had also been pleased when the doctor placed him in her arms. He sniffed the air as if checking if that was the right person before drifting off to sleep.

After a while she was interrupted by Itou-sensei. The one that had attended her during the birthing had been a male hanyou. She thought his name to be Jinenji. The half-demon had big blue eyes and a long horse like face with black hair. He was deformed but proved to be an excellent doctor and also very nice. She had wondered who his sire was. After all, she could not blame him for his own appearance, but she secretly wondered about his father's look.

Shiori sat next to her with clip board in hand ready to ask as many questions as needed to answer her increasing curiosity. Once again she wondered who this female was and why was she pupped by an Inu yokai, the Western Lord nonetheless. But the question that was nagging her was, _'is she human?'_ And, _'if no, what is she?' _She decided to start with regular questions before going into the big picture.

"How are you doing?" She asked the woman who was smiling at her son.

"I'm fine. Thank you Itou-sensei," she replied.

"That's good, but we are not done yet. We need to take a sample of your blood and his. It seems there is something unusual with the boy," she saw the concerned look in the mother's eyes.

"Is he going to be alright? I mean it's something bad? I-I…"She said tearing up.

"You don't have to worry. The boy is healthy and strong, actually too strong to be a hanyou, that's why we need to do some tests and make sure we didn't make a mistake." She wondered how the female in front of her didn't know who the father of her child was.

"What do you mean?" Maaya asked curiosity taking the better of her.

"Well, it seems your son is a full-blooded Inu yokai and not a hanyou as we thought he would be. We are trying to find out why this happened. There is the possibility that the father's blood is too strong and overpowered most of yours making him look more yokai-like. If that is the case, there would be no problem. But because we are not sure, we need to do some tests. If he's a yokai we would be asking you to come frequently for checkups. I'm afraid we have never had such a case before and we don't know if it could be dangerous," said Shiori truthfully, thinking how proud Sesshoumaru would be if he saw the little pup.

"A yokai?" Maaya asked. She couldn't believe that her son was a full-blooded demon, but somehow it felt right.

"Also, do you know anything about your ancestry?" Shiori inquired.

"Ancestry? No, I never knew my parents. I was raised by a family who found me in the forest near their house," she said questioning what that had to do with anything.

"Did they find anything on you? Like jewelry, something that could direct them to your real parents," asked Shiori.

"No, but they said I was glowing when they found me. They also said it was early morning and that the sun lighted up the place where I was," she said as nothing special. The doctor, however, thought it might be important but changed the course of their conversation.

"Have you nourished him yet?" She asked.

"Ah no," shock sounding in her voice, what kind of mother was she?

"Don't worry, he should let you know when he's hungry, yokai baby don't eat right away, they wait until their stomach is ready to consume milk," said the Shiori smiling at her reaction. "And he already smelled you, right?"

"Yes, he did. Why would he do that?"

"You see, yokai, unlike humans, only feed from their mothers, and in rare cases, they let their father. If their mother is not there to provide for them they'll starve to death. However, with the advance in medicine yokai and human we have found ways to feed them. This method is by force and, more often than not, the pup suffers injuries that might not be easily cured or forgotten. Well, the point of such painful treatment is to keep them alive, but there is too much controversy with it. Many believe that such children should be killed and others think they should be left to live, give them an opportunity that in another time they wouldn't have had," she clarified.

"I didn't know that," she whispered to herself.

"That only means you haven't been reading the books I gave you," said Shiori. "We'll take care of that later. So, what name will you give him?"

"Yuu," said Maaya smiling at the doctor, "and he's going to have my last name."

"Oh, what about his father," asked the curious doctor. Maaya's cheek took a rose color at the question. "Don't worry, I won't judge you."

"I know, but it's kind of embarrassing," taking a deep breath, Maaya told her all she knew about the father of her child to her doctor that was becoming a close friend.

"I see, then I agree that is better if you put your last name, somehow it doesn't feel like that was his real one," said Shiori. Now she knew why Maaya was clueless to the identity of her lover. Sesshoumaru had lied to her and Itou-sensei had no idea of what to do. She was acquainted with the Western Lord and had known him for at least 200 years, so she knew of his hate for the ningen race. She had known of his newest strange hobby but never thought that he could make such a mistake. Maybe he was losing his touch or maybe Maaya was just special. That was what she was going to find out. But who else knew of this development? She needed to know. That kind of knowledge was risky and Maaya's life could be in danger. But first things first, she needed to know everything she could about her charge and do some studies. "Changing the subject, I think we should keep this information secret for the time being. You could be in danger if it got out, although I'll have to talk to the Director before accepting your case."

"You are going to tell Hyata-san?" Maaya asked a little surprised. If her case was going to pass through the board of Directors then it had to be important.

"You know Hiten?" Shiori asked her surprised. It seemed Maaya made friend of the most unexpected people.

"Well, I work with Miroku and the pervert mentions him a lo,t" Maaya said.

"Miroku?" Itou-sensei was impressed and now she knew with whom to talk to keep the secret safe. "Yeah, well, your case is important and one of a kind. But… Oh look at the time. I think you should rest before I come to take the blood samples. I would suggest you eat something too, you need to be strong enough to feed him," she said matter-of-factly. "And there is somebody who wants to see you. I'll send her in," she added and left in a hurry processing everything she had been told until now. There was a possibility that they would have to hide Yuu's markings. Since Maaya didn't know who the pup's father was, it would be safer for her to keep the pup hidden. Shiori would have to convince her; otherwise she could find herself in a very bad position if others found out that Yuu was Sesshoumaru's son. And she was sure they would, the crescent moon was enough to convince her that he was, and so it would encourage others. Maybe if she told Maaya that she would be in danger if others knew he was a full demon birthed by a human female she would agree to it. She was hoping she would or they could die.

Minutes later Hitomiko was next to Maaya, appreciating the boy's physique and somehow happy for her friend. During the last four months she had changed somewhat. She didn't hate yokai as before. The dislike hadn't disappeared entirely, but she was giving them an opportunity. She figured out they had more in common that either race wanted to admit and she kept it to herself. She knew humans hated what they didn't know or understand, and hadn't been better than yokai in many occasion.

Maaya was glad that her friend had decided to give her another chance to redeem herself, and that she acknowledged her son too. She promised herself not to be foolish again; she had friends that wanted to help her as much as she was ready to help them. She told her what the doctor had said about the possibility of the baby being a full yokai which made her friend shift nervously in her chair. However, Maaya didn't think anything of it; her friend didn't like yokai to begin with.

* * *

**A**fter leaving Maaya with her friend, Shiori went directly to see Hiten. He needed to know what was happening if something was to be done about it. That and he was the only person that could be considered a friend of Sesshoumaru's. Going to the elevator and stopping on the sixth floor, she walked through several hallways before arriving at Hiten's private office.

"Hyata-sama," she called while knocking softly on the door.

"Come in, Shiori," he said. "What is it?" He knew Itou-sensei didn't go to see him very often and it usually meant some very important business was at hand.

"It's about a patient, her name is Minamoto Maaya," she said while closing the door behind her and making sure nobody was there to listen in their conversation.

"What about her?" Hiten wondered. It was unusual for his employee to just come in to talk about a patient. At the same time, he knew it had to be really important to go directly to him so his fixed his red eyes on the small female figure that went to take a seat in front of his desk.

"She just gave birth to a healthy pup. An inu yokai," Shiori paused before continuing. "Sesshoumaru's son".

"What?" Exclaimed Hiten not sure if he had heard right.

"I'm saying that my patient was pregnant with Sesshoumaru's child," repeated Shiori a little irritated. Really, males could be so dense at times.

"That's impossible. Sesshoumaru wouldn't have made such a catastrophic mistake at such an important time," thinking fast he couldn't help but ask several stupid questions. "Are you sure it's his son?" Shiori nodded. "Couldn't it be someone who just happened to look very similar to him?" Obviously, he was in denial.

"How many demons do you know that have golden eyes, silver hair, stripes on their cheeks and a mauve crescent moon in their forehead? I know there are many with silver hair, or with stripes, even with golden eye color, but none have had all of those attributes together and none of them had a crescent moon in their body," replied Itou-sensei a little angry but understanding at the same time. "I know what I saw, Hyata-sama, and I can tell you it's not normal or at the right time, but it's real. We have to do something. Maaya doesn't have any idea that Sesshoumaru is the father and I'm pretty sure Sesshoumaru doesn't know he has a son; otherwise he wouldn't be planning to launch this ridiculous campaign at a time like this."

"I see," replied the still in denial director of Kaminari Health Institute.

"No, you don't. Sesshoumaru's son is a full blooded demon but his mother is a human, a filthy ningen in the eyes of the demon society, but a special one. If they find out that she can bear full blooded children, Kami knows what they could do to her those traditionalists that want to keep the race pure. She will be in danger and Sesshoumaru is the only who can keep her save…"

"Shiori," said a very serious looking Hiten, interrupting her speech, "we cannot tell Sesshoumaru about this."

"Wha-? Why?"

"Right now, Sesshoumaru's campaign is in favor of the Hanyou's Rights. There are many things that indicate that it might be successful. Among them, the support of the hanyou is important and because his brother is also a half-demon, many believe in him. Also, because Sesshoumaru is a taiyokai, other of us also will have to tolerate your kind, and because Inuyasha is married to Kagome, a human and a miko, humanity will also have to show their support. But if a full blooded son of his appears right now, Hanyou-tachi will think he was not truthful in his intentions. Demons will believe Sesshoumaru prefers the superiority of the race before anything else and might revolt against the humans and hanyou. And humanity… humanity is the most dangerous of them all, if demons attack, they will have no doubt in defending themselves and this feeble peace we have worked so hard to attain will come crashing down on us," Hiten sighed. "It's best if Sesshoumaru remains ignorant of his child for the time being."

"Then, who is to protect her and her child?" Shiori asked feeling useless.

"We'll have to do," replied Hiten. "Hiding his features and making sure that your patient understands that he must be kept save at all times is all we can do for now. She have to come for checkups weekly, after all, it seems like she is rather unusual."

"I understand. Thank you, Hyata-sama," said Shiori while standing up and readying herself to leave. "He… Sesshoumaru, he'll kill us when he finds out about this, won't he?"

"Most likely," said Hiten also thinking the same thing. His friend wouldn't like it in the least but it was a need and he would come to understand it, eventually. He just hoped that it was before he actually got to the part of killing them.

"Ah, before I forget, I think your friend, Miroku, knows about it too so maybe you should speak with him," said Shiori before closing the door behind her.

* * *

**Two Years Later**

"**N**ow that everybody is here we can begin," said Kaede in front of her officers in the meeting room. "We have decided to begin an operation on Kagewaki Naraku." The silence in the room was total.

"Why now?" Yura asked after several minutes of silence.

"Well, we have information that somebody working for Kagewaki was involved in a drug bust that was done a week ago. Apparently, the deal didn't go too well and several ningen and yokai were found dead. No money was discovered and the package had disappeared as well. However, we found some samples of a drug in one of the corpses. The body was identified as Yoshida Goshinki, male, at least 100 years old appearing to be in his 30s. He had been arrested before but we never had proof to do anything else and he was released soon after. He had been working for Kagewaki for at least 20 years now, but we haven't been able to establish any connection between the two," informed Kaede.

"It still doesn't answer the question," said Kohaku who was sitting next to Yura.

"Be patient, boy, I'll get there when its time," she chuckled at their eagerness. "In these folders is all the information we have," she said while passing them around and continued talking. "The material found in Goshinki's body was sent to the laboratories for examination. The results we got showed a powerful unknown substance. Also, the body showed signs of increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased temperate and high chemical activity in the brain. It seems he had a seizure from the amount that he was infused. We believe is a new drug being advertised in the black market. Rumor has it that is not out yet, so we assumed that what happened there was an encounter between those directly connected with its manufacture."

"Why are we getting involved in this case? If it's about drugs the Drug Department should take care of it," said Hitomiko.

"Usually, they would take the case. However, we are not dealing with a regular drug but with a new one. This drug is powerful enough to kill a yokai," finished saying Kaede. The room was quiet for a couple of seconds until several 'what's' were heard. "Exactly, this drug it's what killed Yoshida Goshinki. And is our job to find where this drug is being produced, by whom and to stop its fabrication. We can't allow this drug to reach the black market or we'll have a bigger problem in our hands."

"But Kaede-keishi, we'll need our best people in this case and most of us are busy with the Takemaru case. We don't have enough man power to handle both," said Maaya.

"We are going to have to stop investigation about Takemaru, Maaya. This is more important right now. We'll keep watch lest something big happens while we are busy, but other than that, I won't be able to do."

"But we almost had him…" pleaded Maaya.

"Not only that, we have a witness," said Yura placing a hand over Maaya's shoulder.

"How come we didn't know about that?" Miroku asked letting his presence known.

"She asked me to keep quiet. He has been looking for her and she didn't want to expose her children to danger. However, he is getting closer and we'll have to move her to a safer place until she's able to testify against him," she stated.

"Who is the witness?" Hitomiko asked trying to see Yura's face and not her friend's black head.

"Takemaru Kikyo, Takemaru Setsuna's wife," everybody was surprised at Yura's answer. They didn't expect Takemaru's wife to go against him.

"Where is she staying at?" Miroku asked from the far end of the table.

"She's in Hoshiyomi's territory, in Tokyo," she answered.

"Very well, Yura, you are going to continue in the Takemaru Case. The rest of us are going to begin working in the Kagewaki Case," ordered Kaede.

"I'll need more people working with me Kaede-keishi," alleged Yura.

"You're right about that. I'm going to have to contact other stations and ask for a little back up. I can't promise you anything though," answered Kaede.

"Ok," that was the best she could hope for and she knew it so she continued to look through her papers.

"Well, how are we going to infiltrate Kagewaki's ranks?" Kohaku asked.

"We could get one of us to go and look for a job at his company," suggested Hitomiko.

"Not bad, but it would take years to get close to Naraku when you are just another employee in his corporation and we need to do this fast, I'm sure our bosses want some result. After all, we haven't been able to capture him and we have an advantage right now. That is something we won't have forever," said Maaya.

"True," sighed her friend.

After an hour of discussing other alternatives they had nothing. Getting close to Kagewaki Naraku was going to be difficult even with a plan. If they didn't have anything planned it would be impossible.

"There is going to be a Charity Ball in October 10. It's hosted by the Taisho Corporation. If we could get in there maybe we could get close enough to Naraku. He's famous for playing Daddy-Long-Legs," said Yura while looking at her papers. "The tricky part would be getting around his wife, Kaguya. She is rumored to be a real bitch to any woman who gets too close to him in public," everybody was looking her way. They had forgotten she was there since she wasn't part of the investigation.

"I can solve that problem," said Miroku. He was married to Sango whose best friend was Taisho Kagome. She was married to the younger of the Taisho brothers but she could get them the invitations if they asked her. "I'm going to the Ball but we'll need a female to get close to him and somebody else to go with her."

"Kohaku you'll go with Maaya to this Ball. Miroku will obviously go with Sango and both of you will be Maaya's back up if needed. Hitomiko, you will get all information available about Naraku and those who are closest to him. See if there is any reason for him to go to this Charity Ball, we know he and the Taishou don't get along," said Kaede.

Everything was beginning to take form. They just had to wait for a week to put their plan into action. Maaya was to play as the owner of a small company that needed help with her new acquainted assets. She was going with Kohaku, an old friend that had invited her to spend some time together. They hoped Naraku wouldn't be too suspicious about their true intention and that Kaguya wouldn't be a bitch in front of everybody. If everything went smoothly, Naraku would be interested in Maaya's business and they could use that cover for possible connection to the drug. The plan was pretty simple and if something didn't go right, Maaya just had to remit the plan to someone else and hopefully succeed.

Sadly, there was a possibility that Naraku wouldn't participate in the Ball. They knew Kagewaki and the Taisho brothers didn't get along. If they sent an invitation to him was just formalities and they were hoping he would call to cancel. So for the plan to work, they needed that hated man to go, even if his assistance didn't mean something good. Most likely, in such case, it was because he had a plan of his own and that could endanger the whole operation.

* * *

**M**aaya stopped in front of the Daycare she had to leave her baby at. The school was small with a staff of 14 people. Overall they were nice and they accepted hanyou, yokai and ningen. That was the main problem it suffered. The majority of the children that were enrolled were human, leaving half-demons in the minority and demons nonexistent. So the hanyou that actually assisted were bullied most of the time. If she had had the option, she would have found a more appropriate place for Yuu but they were having economic problems and it was impossible to pay a hanyou school at the time. That was the reason she was disappointed with the school. Every day, Yuu did something wrong and he was grounded for some reason or another. It didn't matter that he looked four years old. He was half that age and should be treated as such. Although Maaya had to admit that he was smarter than the regular two-year-old. With his silver hair reaching his shoulders, those dark gold eyes and a serious expression in his young face made him look more mature than he really was. Still, his temper needed work. He was really protective of her. Actually, if anybody said something they shouldn't about her or looked at her the wrong way, it was enough to make him angry and growl dangerously at the assailant. Usually that would be enough to scare any possible suitors but it didn't always work.

As she deigned to enter the hated institution, she felt something wrap around her leg and instinctively reached to touch his beautiful triangular ears that twitched in response to each sound it heard. He had smelled her when she reached the school door and ran as fast as he could, leaving a screaming teacher behind.

"I missed you Okaa-san," said the little boy with eyes of dark gold.

"I missed you too, sweetie. You were good while I was away?" She asked kneeling down to see her child in the eyes and inspecting his face looking for any possible mark that might be showing.

"Yep, the teacher didn't have to seat me in that chair today and…" he stopped talking and slightly snarled.

"No, I didn't have to use the chair, he was sent to the principal's office, again. We were about to call you, Minamoto-san, when he ran away," said a voice behind him.

Yuu's growling increased.

"Yuu, don't be rude and stop growling," she scolded her child. Since he was a yokai, and usually followed his instincts, he was harder to control. "What happened this time?" She asked him guessing the answered.

"Some human brat was calling you names and told him to shut up," said Yuu lowering his voice as he went on.

"That's right Minamoto-san, now the child can't talk at all; your son broke his jaw," said the teacher accusingly. "We called for the boy's mother and she is on her way. She would like to speak with you personally. And while you wait, you should put a leash around his neck," the cruel tone in the man's voice was enough to make Yuu's fake ears flat against his head. Maaya didn't like it one bit. It was enough that her son had to listen to his snide comments and annoying voice, now he had to suffer through it while she was there too? No way, and if that was the way they treated her child in the stupid place, then she wasn't letting him return.

"I would suggest you don't refer to my son as if he was some kind of beast or you might join your student in the infirmary," said Maaya in a cold tone. She was raging mad. How dare this sorry excuse of a teacher handle her son like some dog? True, he was an Inu yokai, but he had no right to mistreat him. "And I would like to talk to the Principal as well."

She followed the 'teacher' to the main office holding her son's little hand in her. He knew better than to talk right now. It took him long enough to learn not to get in his mother's way when she was furious and he knew what was coming.

"What did the brat say?" She asked him. "And don't even think about lying to me." That was only a warning but he knew better.

"He said you were a whore for letting a yokai have you. And that the student's didn't like a hanyou bastard in their class. His mother said that it was degrading to have a bitch like you as my mother and we should leave for good," he said in a low voice "I couldn't control myself and I hit him. Sorry, Okaa-san, I didn't mean to," he whimpered. She was surprised. She didn't know that children had that kind of vocabulary.

"Don't worry sweetie, it's not your fault," she said to him as kind as her rage allowed her to. She knew her child, and he wouldn't break anybody's bone without a reason. Besides, he was defending her honor as he was supposed to. She had learned that from the books Itou-sensei had given her, and more. She could use her rights as the yokai law said and take the problem into higher grounds. In that time and age it meant taking the case to court. Once upon a time, when things hadn't been so organized, the Lord himself took care of this type of cases where fatherless pups were accused of some wrong doing. But nowadays, the man was just too busy to waste time in trivial matters so the yokai created a court to help the dutiful Lord. However, as always, things weren't that simple. Yuu was inscribed as a half-demon, something that in a yokai court was akin of a grave sin. They might try to do something to hurt him just because of what he seemed to be.

Maaya stepped into the principal's office without almost noticing. She had been too caught up in her own thoughts to pay attention to where she was going but her son was kind enough to remind her when he growled silently. Her baby was still holding her leg like his life depended on it. It didn't but Yuu didn't like to be reprimanded in public or at all, that was the only reason she had so little problems with him. Well, that was until she enrolled him in this mediocre school.

Looking around and taking in the simple design of the office which she was more acquainted with that she wanted to, she saw the cabinets in one side and stands with book on another. A dark purple rug was under her feet and a fake plant did little to decorate the place. Behind a big desk full of folders was a man. He looked too kind for his own good. He didn't have strong character which was shown by his gentle eyes that confirmed how happy he was to see her. She didn't like that either. He was about two inches taller than her with short brown hair. He smiled when he saw her, apparently, oblivious to the situation.

"Minamoto-san, what a surprise," he said showing her an empty seat. "What brings you here?"

"Yuu, wait outside," she ordered her pup and he growled in return showing his displeasure but left. It seemed her son didn't like the man anymore than she did. Maaya waited until her son was out of hearing range to continue. "Hojo-sensei, we have a little situation with another student…"

"Ah, that is just kid's things, you shouldn't worry so much about it," Hojo replied giving little importance to, what he belief, could be taken care of between children themselves.

"Excuse me?" Maaya's voice sounded full of indignation. "I'll let you know that my son has been bullied since the day I enrolled him here and you have done nothing about it," she informed him and continued when he tried to say something. "Not only that, but his teacher also grounds him for no apparent reason and other children call him and me names they shouldn't even know. I have no proof that there has been physical abuse and Yuu hasn't complained about it, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it happened even when I hope it hasn't." She was far too angry to care anymore so she continued on her tirade. "This school should be for ningen only since they are the only people attending. That crappy advertisement that said yokai and hanyou allowed shouldn't be told to the public because they aren't truthfully accepted in this school." She said turning her back to leave.

"Maaya-san, please, tell what happen to make you so angry?" The clueless principal asked her. Her words had cut deep but he needed to know why she was so mad.

"What happened?" She repeated automatically. "I see you are as dense as ever, principal. My son has had enough of the insults he received from his schoolmates and punched one that called me a whore and a bitch. I think that is enough to warrant a warning to change the school policies from the court. And make no mistake; there is where I'm going next," said a very decided onna.

"Maaya-san, please, don't…" the principal was interrupted by a scream coming from the hallway. That only meant one thing, and not a good one at that. Maaya left the man with the unfinished sentence in his mouth and ran outside looking for her son. What she saw when she got there was a crimson eyed yokai biting a woman's hand and screams of pain that attracted the attention of half the school. Blood was coming out at a fast pace and the woman was hitting her child in the head to let her go. Several others came to help, also abusing her kid to release the innocent onna but Maaya knew better, she could see how red Yuu's cheek was and the determination in his eyes. He wasn't letting go of this woman who had offended his mother and slapped him in front of everybody.

Everything had happened like in movie, and when it finally sunk in, Maaya was fighting for control. Thanks Kami-sama she wasn't a yokai or there would be a couple of corpses sitting in the hallway. With murderous decision she went toward the feuding pair making everybody else stop what they were doing and take several steps back. She stopped the striking hand of the crying woman before it met its target and kneeled down while holding the onna's appendage. She patted her son's head and softly told him to let go but he was like a bulldog, unwilling to release his pray even if he was a little calmer.

"Yuu, let her hand go," ordered Maaya. She had to repeat herself five more time, but he finally let go of the hand. His eyes took sometime before returning to the dark golden color they always had. She pulled him toward her as he hid his face in her chest. She knew he was crying, something he rarely did in front of her, even less in front of strangers. This bitch was going to pay for what she did to her son.

"You should tie that beast and keep him in the basement. He's dangerous. You shouldn't let him out of your sight," cried the woman while holding her bloody hand. "I'm going to call the police. This isn't going to stay this way."

"Now, ladies, this is just a quarrel between children. Don't let it get the best of you," said the principal in an effort to calm the situation.

"What are you saying Koucho-san, this isn't some quarrel…"

"She's right. This is an offence to my son. His rights have been violated and as the law says I'll ask for retribution," said Maaya in a calm yet poisonous voice. "He's not a ningen, he's a yokai and their laws will be honored. I will not allow the offender to go unpunished. Also, my son won't be coming to this school anymore."

"What you talking about, he bit my hand like a rabid dog. You should be paying me not the other way around," exclaimed the onna who, by then, had a nurse cleaning her wound.

"It was your own fault. You slapped him first. And you should be grateful; if he was older you wouldn't be in one piece. Inu yokai don't take insults lightly," said Maaya. She turned around and left.

She wanted to beat that woman into a pulp, but she knew better. She had more possibility of winning if she just stood down. Besides, she knew in yokai society, the male was supposed to be the one to take retribution and since there was no such male in her life, the weight of defending her fell on the court system, and even then, there was little possibility of her winning. However, for these kinds of cases the Ningen-Yokai Relation Group was created. She had friends there and they knew what to do.

Leaving the infernal school, she went to her car and tried to calm her son but the feeling of failure was also drowning her. She felt so bad inside, like her heart was wrenching itself in her chest. 'What kind of mother I am?' Maaya asked herself trying to avoid the tears that she knew wanted to fall. 'What kind of mother let's her child get hurt right in front of her?' Her son had been hurt and she couldn't do anything about it. Kami, she felt like shit for letting that bitch do that to him. If he had a father, they wouldn't be in this situation, but the gods weren't that kind. She heard a muffled sob from him and she couldn't stop her own tears from leaving her eyes. She hated being this weak.

"Don't worry, sweetie, I'll make your favorite food when we get home. So stop crying alright, Okaa-san will make sure that bi... woman doesn't hurt you anymore," he only nodded and fought to keep the rest of the tears from falling.

* * *

**S**esshoumaru was making sure that everything would be fine during his Charity thing. He wasn't a party person but Kagome had mentioned something about it and he thought he would give it a try. It turned out to be harder than he thought. He had to send out invitations, called for a chef to provide food and another thousand things he had never done before or had time to do. At the end he had to ask her to help him. He was not used to being helped but he was at lost about this ceremony and she agreed. So there was no damage done.

She had made a list of possible places where the party could be held at, what entertainment to provide and even the menu. He told her she was free to choose what she liked. She chose the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, the room in the third floor known as the Genji Ballroom. He had accepted. He had never been in the hotel but heard many opinions about it and none of them were bad. She also wanted to display the Shikon no Tama, she knew it could be dangerous but with some guards would be safe. And she wouldn't be too far away just in case.

The food to be served was Japanese style cuisine and the drink was traditional sake. The invitations to the party were white with golden letter. In the cover it had mauve crescent moons and silvery stars that fell from a passing comet. It had the place, date and time of the ball and said to bring a partner. They already had the reservation in the hotel together with the requested services of the valet parking. The place would be decorated with his colors. The table cloth would be golden with silver moons in the border. The centerpiece would be a flower bouquet with purple dianthus, lily of the valley and yellow roses. All that was left was to contract the serving staff and fix up the place.

He should be happy, but something was bothering him. He checked his guest list again and looked at a name he had hoped not to see, Kagewaki Naraku. He didn't want to send him any invitation but Kagome had convinced him otherwise. She said she was sure Naraku wouldn't come but it seemed she had been wrong. And he didn't like that, it was no secret they didn't get along and he had to wonder why that sorry excuse of hanyou was going to his ball.

He was sure nothing good would come out of it, it never did. But it's not like he could tell him not to come. However, he was going to be ready for whatever the hanyou threw at him. He would increase the surveillance of the place and even call some of the people in his bodyguard team to protect Kagome and the Shikon no Tama.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number from Nara. It rang three times before somebody answered.

"Moegi," he said. "I need your team here in a week."

"What are we in charge of protecting, Sesshoumaru-sama?" The monotone voice asked on the other side of the phone.

"The Shikon no Tama," he said.

"Where is the Shikon Miko?" She asked.

"She'll be there, but won't be able to protect the jewel," he replied.

"What about the jobs we have for next week?" The voice inquired again.

"Leave Ai in charge of those, divide her team so they can cover more while you guys are here," he ordered.

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said before hanging up.

At least with Moegi's team in there the probability of been attacked decreased. But he would be ready for something to occur. He knew Naraku and he was going to do something to endanger his little party.

* * *

**A/N**

I hope you like this chapter. There is a jump of two years from the beginning, so if there is any question of what could have happened during that time, part of the story explains it, the rest I would say it was taking care of Yuu and working her ass off to sustain both of them. I'll admit that I'm trying to figure out her schedule to accommodate Sesshoumaru in because, my god, it's busy, although, she'll need time for the demand against Yuu and her.

There had been a couple of changes on the story; however, in this chapter in particular, I just made it better. The stupid plan to try and contact Naraku is the same, but their goal is to establish a business connection that could be used to gain access to his drug deals not to go to bed with him as it was stated before.

Also, a little more is said about Shiori's plan to hide Yuu's existence from Sesshoumaru but that is mainly done to protect Maaya and the pup. Why they don't tell her is still a plot thing I'm working out but I'll find an excuse for that. I might say it has something to do with his political career but haven't decided yet. Also, the division of Lands I did is as follows: Lower Honshu Area which is made by Chugoku, Kinki and Chubu will be considered as the Western Territories and they are represented by Sesshoumaru; Upper Honshu (Kanto and Tohoku Area) are the Eastern Territories oversaw by Hoshiyomu; Hokkaido is governed by Menomaru making it the Northern Territory; and last, Southern Territories which are the two remaining islands Kyushu and Shikoku regulated by Abi. Before, I had not drawn a map so I got the names mixed up. Menomaru _does not_ reigns over Tokyo, Hoshiyomu does.

_Seleni Argyrios_


	5. Chapter 5

**Vocabulary**

Kage Miko Dantai – Shadow Priestess Organization

Asuka Jidai – A period in Japanese history (538 – 710) CE or (592 – 645) CE. The difference in date is due to the fact that it overlaps with the previous and subsequent periods

Edo Jidai – A period in Japanese history (1603 – 1868) CE. Also known as the Tokugawa Jidai (Period)

Imouto – Little Sister

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

**Chapter 5: Coincidental Meeting**

**I**t wasn't long before a letter from the judge arrived at Maaya's small apartment with a date for a preliminary hearing. Seeing the process moved so fast gave her a really bad feeling but decided that maybe it wasn't bad that things weren't going to take a long time. As precautionary measure, Maaya called Koyuki, a friend and lawyer that worked in the Human-Yokai Relation Group, to ask for her opinion in the matter. After listening to the whole story, Koyuki only told her one thing, "Get a lawyer". Maaya had thought of doing just that more than once, but her budget was running low. However, it seemed like she was running out of options.

She had read the court summoning more than once but the legal jargon was hard to understand. Still, the message got across loud and clear. They wanted to take Yuu away. The letter didn't give any other information regarding the case but Maaya guessed that what they didn't write in there was just as bad if not worse. However, as things stood, she couldn't proof that Yuu wasn't the one to strike first or without reason. Along with that, she had no idea if social workers were going to take her son from her because of that incident. She wouldn't be surprised if something like that happened but she wanted to be prepared. There had to be another way to keep the yokai social authorities from taking Yuu to a poor semblance of a correctional house. Maaya knew of those places where young demons with behavioral problems ended up. She had been in some of those houses once or twice and she didn't like them in the least.

The young yokai taken there were treated bad, like animals that needed strict training and abuse to understand the laws. She knew that wasn't the case and that several of the unfortunate detainees where there under false charges. However, there was no one who could do something for them since most were abandoned or simply orphaned. The few that had parents didn't received visits very often and the ones that really needed to be corrected were free to do as they pleased. Bottom line was, she didn't want Yuu to end up in that situation. Maaya understood that he was a little hard to control sometimes but she did her best and he had never done anything that warranted retaliation.

But one complication wasn't enough to ruin her life, although she could say that she had a handful. Yuu situation was the most important but it needed time and she had to wait to solve it. Meanwhile, her work was consuming the rest of the problems.

For starters, she had the Kagewaki Case. Plainly speaking, they were going on an undercover mission to confront a hanyou with hidden motives. Not much was known about Naraku's objectives, only that he seemed to want the Shikon no Tama, a famous powerful jewel that was going to be displayed during the Taishou Gala. They knew for sure that the Shikon Miko was going to be there because where the jewel was so was its protector. That also brought out they question of 'Did he really only want the jewel or did he want the Tama with Miko and everything?' It sounded tempting since the Miko was rumored to be as beautiful and powerful as any demoness. However, Maaya had to wonder how he was going to obtain both in a place that belonged to the most powerful taiyokai of Japan. She had never seen him before, but what was told about him would make anybody consider crossing him. She was also sure he knew Naraku better than anyone else since the dislike between the two was legendary. She was sure that Mr. Taishou was waiting for Kagewaki to pull something. It didn't matter to her though, as long she could get in and get out with the require information, everything else was a plus.

Along with the possibility of something going wrong during the Gala, they were also working on the Takemaru Case until they found some replacements. At first Kaede thought it was best to just leave Yura working on it but later became evident that it wasn't going to work so they shared the responsibilities among the group. Meanwhile Kaede was going to contact the South Police to see if they could send some help. With that were the rumors that Takemaru was looking for his missing wife and daughters and someone had leaked information that they were in the East. They still didn't know who the shatter box was, but Takemaru believed it and had concentrated all his efforts on that zone making Kikyo's change of safe house more urgent than before.

Also some random terrorists' attacks had the whole department on its toes waiting for a new hit to occur at any moment. They were quite resent and where thought to be the work of the Kage Miko Dantai –Takemaru's Organization– but it didn't seem to be the case. The MO was totally different from how the KMD did things. Not only that, but a widely known anti-demon group from America also seemed to be working in Japan at the time. The Free Yokai World Group was making a ruckus farther north, but seem to be steadily moving down which had begun to worry the superiors. She had heard that the Cardinal Dignities were a bit worried with all the terrorism against yokai and were looking forward to how the government was going to take care of the issue at hand. Maaya didn't really care how the politicians were coming up with stupid rules to suppress the warring masses; she just hoped a civil war didn't break out. With all the tension being placed in the government by yokai and ningen alike, sooner or later one of the two sides would do something that would cause another war. During those restless times, it was difficult to be a single mother of a yokai working for the demons who were trying to keep appearances by having their own forces take care of the demonic delinquents.

However, all those future headaches and disasters had to wait until morning because that night she had a date, said date she had been waiting for the last half hour and still hadn't shown up. If he ever did, he would need hearing aid from that day forward because she was going to scream so loud his eardrum would shatter. Nevertheless, she struggled trying to keep herself in hold, the damned man knew how she loved to be punctual for anything, earlier, if possible; and he was taking his sweet time getting ready to bust a criminal who happen to go to a ball.

She went to the door again, hoping that in that instant he would knock and they could get to the party on time. But, as before, no one tapped the white door of her small one bedroom apartment. She dragged her beautiful black gown back to the chair she had been sitting minutes ago and continued to wait for Komatsu Kohaku, the soon to be dead police officer.

* * *

**I**t was 7:30. Enough time to get ready for his Charity Ball, and make a magnificent entrance at the first event he had ever hosted. After all the arrangements and brain lacerations he had suffered when organizing it, it had been worth the effort. The press had been invited and cameras were going to be around reporting the biggest event in, at least, the last ten years. The occasion was to donate a generous amount of money to several foundations helping nature, homeless children and several deadly illnesses. He had to thank Kagome for everything. She had come up with the idea and had helped him organize the damned thing. But as happy as he was of her collaboration and company during those hellish days, he was also weary of an issue that had arisen the day they received the confirmation of those that were going to assist his little party. The matter was so serious that he was afraid it could ruin his Ball after all the hard work.

The issue's name was Naraku. The filthy hanyou was assisting the event, disregarding every warning Sesshoumaru had given him about participating. He had to be planning something; otherwise he wouldn't show his face. He was sure he was after the Jewel again, and as before, Naraku was going to fail. Why couldn't he understand he wasn't going to get his claws on the stone? However, he never gave up and kept trying, which was driving the taiyokai insane. Couldn't he go on vacation once in a while and leave them alone? Apparently not. He wished he could just erase Naraku from the face of the planet but had little luck doing it. Sesshoumaru knew he could take the half-demon with his eyes close, but that was only power talking. The damn hanyou was crafty and always escaped him before he has his heart in his claws. He didn't like that at all, he needed to be prepared in case Naraku tried to harm Kagome or take the Shikon. Although he didn't care for the piece of rock, he sure did about Kagome and wasn't going to let him get away with it.

While he looked in the mirror checking his black Armani suit, his thoughts wandered to a new and small problem that had recently come up. Sesshoumaru had a mark in the back of his right shoulder blade. It was a rather unusual symbol that had never been seen before in any female, who were the ones that bore the mating mark, or male. It was a pair of white wigs that protectively surrounded a tear drop. He hadn't notice he had the mark until a month ago when a female mentioned the 'tattoo'. Her ignorance obviously knew no limit. Yokai didn't have tattoos; they had marks to show their rank, species and mating status, but who was he to educate the wench?

After the not so happy discovery of a mark he knew had not been there before, he began to research to see what came up. He had spent hours in the library reading old texts from the Asuka Jidai to the most recent ones that were around the Edo Jidai. He had found a lot of thing he already knew like what types of mark there were and how they were divided. But there was one that caught his attention, the Unknown Mark. After reading all scrolls that mentioned it, he thought it was a legend. That was until he found a little scroll hidden in a corner of a shelf all dusty and almost eaten away by bookworms. It did all the difference in his weeks of research and now he found himself looking for a female he very much doubted he was going to find.

He signed of exasperation. He had no idea where to begin to look for this female. Hell, he didn't even know what she looked like. He was known to be a one-night-stand kind of guy, a womanizer who bedded anything of the opposite sex. He had been through women as he had been through clothes all his life. When he didn't like them anymore, he threw them away and found a new one. But now he needed to find one in a pile that could reach the sky. Why? Because he had a mating mark in his back, the famed Unknown Mark to be precise.

It seemed that after an unattached male and female exchanged blood during sexual intercourse, the male would receive the mark. Why? He guessed it was a reminder. A way to ensure he would return to the female. However, most of the time she didn't know what she had done. The scroll said that the mark was meant for soul mates and that without one, the other would never be truly happy. On the other hand, everything he had read could mean nothing at all. He could be mistaken since the scroll mentioned that the mark depended in the race the female belonged to. If she was human the mark would be something like a crystallized flower with a diamond shaped jewel floating over it. If it was a yokai it would be a dragon claw holding a sphere. It mentioned gods but it said that three yokai had mated one and none of them following such circumstances. There was no account of a god ever coming to earth and leaving such a mark on a yokai, so that one was out of the question. If it wasn't a Kami, then what the hell would leave such a mark on him?

In the end, he had a mark that it seemed to be a mating symbol but it didn't fit anywhere he looked. The only hope he had left was where they mentioned a miko in the text. It said they weren't certain if the miko entered as a separate category since they had holy powers but were human. When he read that, he wished it was Kagome's mark but it looked like to get the mark they would need to make love, and if Sesshoumaru was sure of something, it was the he had never touched Kagome in such a way no matter how much he wanted to. So, he was stuck with an endless pile of females that would be fawning over him if this information ever got out, or with nothing, since it could actually be a tattoo. Maybe his half-brother had drugged him and paid somebody to tattoo the symbol in his back. Kami he hoped it was the case no matter how absurd the idea was. He was willing to cling to any possibility that avoided seeing all those whores he had bedded.

He walked toward the door and opened it to exit his house and head over the hotel where his Ball would be taking place. He wasn't really looking forward to it, not after all the trouble it would bring. He probably would be interrogating every female he had ever known in a couple of days, even while in the party. And Naraku, the damned hanyou was sure to do something.

* * *

**T**hey were entering the famed Genji Ballroom, her hand around his like a couple, discussing unimportant things as if the argument and yelling had never happened. Well, at least it didn't matter. Their first goal was to contact the other member of their team and if possible find their objective's location as well. Both would take time and patience, but it had to be done.

They walked around for a while trying to locate Miroku among the sea of people. The man was most likely hanging around his wife. They were sure she didn't want him going around and asking other women to bear his child like he was accustomed to. It didn't make it easier, but at least they knew to look for white hair since where Miroku was, so was the Shikon Miko's husband.

Taishou Kagome's spouse, Inuyasha, was a powerful man, said to own part of his father's company and a branch of famous night clubs in Tokyo, Nara and Kyoto. About said man or hanyou people said he was quite beautiful, but rude and not well spoken like his brother. His rude nature made a couple of enemies in the business world and everybody knew that his illustrious sibling didn't approve of it or him. However, his character was the least of things to take into account. His physical appearance was another story. His white hair was like a light in a dark cave and his cute, puppy ears would take them directly to his presence.

"I think I see him," said Maaya as she looked at the back of a tall male with beautiful silver hair and a dark suit.

"Really? Where?" Her companion asked while trying to look amid the crowd.

"That way, to your right," she pointed at the huge man as she remembered her beloved Aki, the treacherous man whom she had had a one night stand with.

"Oh, I see him too, but that's not Inuyasha," Kohaku said. "It's Sesshoumaru talking to another one of his conquest. I thought he only saw them once. Why would he be talking to one now?" He thought to himself.

"That is none of our business. And since he's not Inuyasha, I'm not concerned either," she said wanting to make sure that that Adonis was not her son's father but a man named Sesshoumaru of whom she knew nothing about. On the other hand, the mission came first. "Come on, we still have to find him," she added pulling him away.

After twenty minutes of moving among the tables in search of their partner, they found Miroku talking to a woman with jet black hair, ocean blue eyes and a killer body. They talked harmoniously among them like old friends telling each other the adventures of the day. They looked good together, but Maaya guessed the lady next to the infamous womanizer wasn't his beloved Sango but Kagome; otherwise he wouldn't behave so well in a public place.

As they went nearer she laughed at something Miroku said and waived for Kohaku to go closer. Her smile illuminated the place and Maaya could guess why somebody wanted to steal the jewel of the Taishou Family.

"Hi Kohaku," she said in good humor. "Who's your friend?"

"Hi Kagome, this is Minamoto Maaya. She's a new business owner and a really old friend. I brought her today as my date. Maaya this is Taishou Kagome, a great lawyer and my sister's best friend," said Kohaku.

"Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about Kido-san and you, Taishou-san," said Maaya as she inspected the Miko. She felt like they had something in common. Maybe because she also had holy powers like her, even if only a handful of people knew about it, like Itou-sensei and Mi. She had used her powers in few occasions, most of the time it was to change Yuu's appearance. The rest was while practicing to create barriers and to shoot energy balls from her hands. There was no real explanation why she hadn't displayed any powers before her son's birth since most Miko were trained since they were five years old. But there also was no explanation for Yuu being a full blooded yokai either. So she guessed her powers most have been stuck somewhere this whole time.

"Kagome is fine. What kind of company do you have?" She asked showing her curiosity toward the lady who seem to be about six years younger than her.

"Oh it's a phone company that my father left me. He died some time ago and I would like to do something with it. It's not much of anything right now but I'll try to make it work," was her answer.

"Sorry about your father," she said with sympathy.

"Don't be, he wasn't much of a father to me but at least he remembered me at the very end. Must have been his conscience," said Maaya with little care.

"Well, ehm, sorry about that too," said Kagome moving her hands apprehensively around the midnight purse that complemented her elegant dress.

"Do you recommend anybody I should talk to?" Maaya asked returning to the topic of business, her assumed interest.

"Well, the only investor interested in communications is Kagewaki Naraku, but I don't recommend him at all. He's famous for being corrupt and taking over small companies. Maybe you should try advertising your product more or coming up with different strategies to succeed," commented Kagome.

"I might sell the company, I'm not sure what to do as of yet, but I want to try to make it work. I have my own job and I wouldn't like to lose it because some half dead phone company that my father left me," replied Maaya. "Maybe this Kagewaki would be interested in buying," she considered it. "I'll give it a try later."

"If you are going to sell, I would recommend getting a lawyer to avoid any legal or illegal issues with him. I could help you there if you want," said Kagome.

"Really? Oh thank you very much. Maybe I could star by meeting this guy. Do you know where he is?" Maaya asked.

"I saw him near the entrance when I came in, maybe he's still around," said Kagome unsure of Maaya's intentions. She seemed too eager to meet Naraku, and she, personally, didn't recommend such pleasure to anyone.

"Thanks, I'll be back in a while," she told Kohaku who absently nodded as she took off in search of her target.

* * *

**S**esshoumaru had talked to the 8th woman that night and he was still counting. He wasn't sure what to look for but all of them felt wrong and smelled even more inappropriate. Each one had been busy since the last time he had seen them, the scent of more than two men was still fixed to their skin. Such disappointing discovery made him wonder why he had ever touched them. What had come over him to do such a foul thing? Right now he just wanted to go home and take a long hot bath that it would hopefully kill all the germs and bacteria they had left on him. Maybe a little disinfectant would come in handy too, with another bath afterwards.

He shook his head. He should be playing host for now but he wasn't feeling up to the task. His instincts were going haywire for some reason, maybe because he was a mated demon. That thought made him frown. Was possible to be unfaithful to someone you had no idea existed previous to that month? He didn't think so, but now that he knew about, it changed everything. He felt like lashing out at every woman that came into his personal space. For some reason, each woman was just not good enough to be near him and just one look at them told him they weren't what he was looking for. The feeling was strange, like being possessive over something that wasn't there or that didn't exist. Suppressing a growl, he tried to be a little bit more civilized than he had been up to that moment. Scaring his guest was not an option. He had worked extra hard to make the Gala work so it was best if he also was in his best behavior.

It was obvious that staying in one place, contemplating what to do wasn't going to get him anywhere so he started walking until he noticed that he simply couldn't stop. There was a delicious aroma in the air, an exotic blend of dew and wild berries that drove him crazy with want. It was like it had been wired into his system to crave the owner of the scent and his instincts ordered him to find her.

How did he know it was a woman, a female he rather have in bed than wandering through the room, was beyond him. He just knew. Just as he was sure that she was his. He tasted her in his mouth and it was divine. Her lithe body under his, making wanton noise. Dark hair with soulful black eyes and curvaceous body. _'Such a beauty,'_ he thought and he fought to control a wildness in him that had been lost for some years. It was hard to manage, but even when he had a handle over his desires, he never stopped the search for the owner of the enticing scent. He just knew he had to meet her. It didn't matter if it was only once. He just wouldn't be able to live with himself if such an opportunity escaped him.

Unable to stop, he continued to search the ballroom coming next to each person or place the woman had been. Along the way, people tried to talk to him only to have them dismissed by his impatient walk and even then, his face never revealed his desire or dislike. It was Sesshoumaru. He was always in control especially if was being incited by an outside force. And after trying to pry another woman from his arm, he swore he was going to find out who was the owner of the damned scent and to have her confined in his bedroom for the rest of the week.

* * *

**F**inding Kagewaki wasn't hard at all, just following the dark cloud of miasma he exuded was enough to pinpoint him. Maaya vaguely wondered if she was the only one to notice his evil presence or the yokai, who had a keener scent of smell, didn't detect his poisonous odor. Feeling a tremor rise up her back as she came closer to the abomination, she tried to get into character. _'Businesswoman, businesswoman,'_ she repeated in her mind as to not forget while she went to get some punch. Fine, she was stalling, but who in her right mind wanted to get near something like that? Well, she wasn't. But she had to. So, without thinking what she was going to say, she headed forward before she chickened out.

"Excuse me, are you Kagewaki-sama by any chance?" She asked the man with curly black hair that had his back to her. The hanyou seemed to be well built and strong but he was as evil as they came.

Turning around slowly, wondering who interrupted him; he was delightfully surprise when a woman in her early twenties took all of his attention. She was gorgeous, something he liked in all his victims but he refrained from saying that out loud.

"Yes, I'm Naraku. How can I help such a lovely lady," his red eyes focused on her with an attempted charming smile that only freaked her out.

"I'm Maaya," she said with a playful smile concealing her disgust as best as she could. "It's such an honor to finally meet you, Kagewaki-sama. I've been told many things about you, especially business wise and since I'm a new at this, I thought that maybe you could be of help. You see, I have inherited a phone company from Father, but my major is not business so I have no clue what to do with it."

"I see," he was a little hesitant. It was way too convenient for somebody to approach him regarding business when things weren't going that well in his company, but he wasn't going to judge the timing for such things. Already planning what he would do regarding the tempting woman, he decided to play along to find out what she was up to. "Are you sure your friend recommended me as a possible partner?" He asked with a half-smile that froze the onna in front of him. He was unto her.

"Well, they didn't actually tell me to become your business partner. It went more along the lines 'He's the owner of the most powerful communication company around this parts, beware'," she said with flirtatious smile. "But I like taking chances. I'm sure it would be a pleasure to do business with you, Kagewaki-sama," said Maaya with a hint of intimacy in her voice.

"Right now, I'm not interested in partnerships. But maybe I could buy your company for a fair price. How about we talk it over tomorrow in my office?" He said with a gleam in his small red pupils that promised a dangerous mix of pain, sex and something else that wasn't less dire. That look convinced her, without probable doubt that the last thing she wanted was to be alone with him in his office.

"I'm sorry Kagewaki-sama, but I'm kind of busy tomorrow, a possible contract with Motorola." It was the first thing that occurred to her. She knew she was caught, so all she had to now was to make a hasty exit and tell her partners that the plan had been foiled. "However, if you are interested in buying I could send my lawyer to discuss over the details. She's quite capable in what she does and loyal. Also, my friends recommended making it legal."

"It seems your friends don't trust me," he said.

"Do they have a reason to not trust you, Kagewaki-sama?" Maaya inquired. "It looked like they were preparing me for war and not a simple business deal."

"There are many rumors around. Not all of them are true, of course," he hurried to add with one of his famous smiles that, most of the time, knocked the socks off of some innocent girl. In Maaya's case it didn't work. She had a really bad feeling about the guy and it had turn out he really was a creep. One she didn't like at all.

"Of course they are not. You are a smart business man and they interpret your methods of doing business as…" she stopped to think about the right word, "uncommon. It happens when there are a lot of people losing money to the same person. I'm sure that the Taishou Brothers are treated the same by those who lost their businesses to them" she waited for a reaction to her words.

"So you've heard," smiled Naraku.

"Everybody in this world knows, even a newbie like me," she added.

"What happened that time was a mistake of my part. I offered something that I couldn't give and lost, really bad," he said as a strange emotion crossed his face making Maaya shake for some unknown reason. "Are you cold my dear?"

"Not really, it must have been a draft," she said while glancing around trying to find a way out of the innocuous conversation. As her eyes swept along the room, she couldn't help but notice a tall, silver haired man who walked around looking for something. She stared. They looked so much alike that she was almost certain that the man was Aki. Thinking it was impossible, but unable to take her eyes away from him, she saw a woman go up to him and, as he slowly turned around, she was able to see his face. "Kami-sama," she murmured to herself.

"Something the matter?" The hanyou asked a little to her left.

"No-nothing, Kagewaki-sama, it's just that I can't believe I'm talking to you," she replied with no enthusiasm as she tried to force a smile into her face. Her eyes, however, had a mind of their own as they followed the silver haired man's gestures as he talked to the woman.

Naraku lifted an eyebrow at her action, and that desire to look behind him was beginning to nag at him. However, he managed to contain it. "Maaya?"

"Yes?" Answered the distracted woman.

"What are you looking at?" His voice was dangerously low and still, the onna dared to ignore him.

"It's nothing," another absently given answer. What could she possibly be looking at? Suddenly, she moved to be right in front of him. Her eyes were wide, rosy mouth open and breathing erratically. Wondering what had scared her he tried to turn, only to feel her soft hands on his person as she held him in place. "No, no, no, no. Don't look," she chastised him sounding like a child. "Sorry," she added seconds later when she noticed what she had done. However, it wasn't long before she was trying to look over his shoulder. "Oh, my God," she repeated, feeling herself getting aroused just by thinking of thing that certainly had a better place to be thought of. Just seeing him again woke up her libido with a vengeance. It brought back the memories of that passionate night that had brought Yuu into her world and she just loved the feeling that had began built in her.

Totally forgetting who she was touching and who she was thinking about, she saw Aki disappear from her view. Naraku was coming closer attracted by her arousal and putting her in a very difficult situation. Ignoring him as best she could and trying to see past him, she pushed him from her.

"What is going on?" Naraku asked her one more time obviously annoyed by the silent denial but seeing the flustered onna look passed him again fueling his rage.

"So sorry, Kagewaki-sama, but I've got to go," she said while keeping him in front of her as she moved in a circle. "Can you do me a favor and keep him busy for five minutes? Thank you." With that, Maaya escaped toward the exit in a black blur leaving a pissed off Naraku behind.

Clearly no understanding the woman at all, he turned around to come face to face with Sesshoumaru. "Well, well, well, if it isn't one of the Cardinal Dignities."

* * *

"**W**ho was she?" The intimidating taiyokai asked as he tried to ignore the annoying remark.

Sesshoumaru had been looking for the mysterious woman through the whole room. Her scent was everywhere and she had been impossible to find. He had begun to seriously consider if she was real or not but for some strange reason he couldn't convince himself that the whole thing might a prank. Like an idiot, he continued to stoically walk around the entrance of the ballroom. Her scent was dissipating and even after the most inebriated part of it had left his system, he couldn't help but want to find her.

In that situation found him Souten, Hiten's imouto. The teenager was turning into a beautiful demoness but he couldn't bring himself to say anything to her. For starter, she was like family to him. He had seen her grow up and taught her how to fight so it was impossible for him to see her as anything else. There was no need to mention that Hiten would have his head if he ever thought of doing anything inappropriate to his little sister. If there was any other reason, he thought them to be trivial. He didn't consider Souten to be that kind of woman and he was glad to be proven right every step of the way.

As she explained to him why she was looking for him, he felt eyes on him. It wasn't that such instances hadn't happened before –there had been plenty of times he had been stalked by all type of people– it just didn't feel the same as those times. Briefly locating the part of the room he felt the person was looking from, he turned that way, keeping Souten talking and half listening to what she was saying.

He didn't know what he expected to find when he looked in that direction, but Naraku wasn't it so he just ignored it as best as he could. Still, the feeling of being watched didn't go away. Taking more interest in Naraku that he would have like, he saw somebody hide behind the terrifying hanyou. Sesshoumaru creased his forehead. Who could that be? It just seemed so strange and curiosity so overwhelming that he wanted to go there and ask Naraku, or better yet, Naraku's partner, to tell him what she was looking at. As he tried to keep his conversation going with the Kaminari yokai, he still could feel the eyes on him. Being unable to ignore it anymore, he sent Souten away before heading toward Naraku. He didn't plan to fight him at all, but it seemed that even the hanyou was behaving strangely since he seemed ignorant of his approach. Even better, he could surprise them.

But the one astonished was Sesshoumaru. As he went nearer, the scent of arousal became stronger and the owner of the scent was known. It was that onna, the one he had been looking for. For some reason he didn't want to explore ever, the taiyokai was furious. Each step he took toward the couple only fueled his predator instinct as he began to circle around them as if readying himself to jump on an unsuspecting pray. To his surprise, the ignorant Naraku was also moving as he did, the hanyou's back always to him, shielding the woman who was obviously watching him. It was a trap, he decided, a well planned trap that was driving him mad. That scent, exited as it was, was a force to be reckoned with.

Sesshoumaru forgot Naraku as he inhaled several times to keep the aroma where it belonged, in him. But that was the opportunity the woman needed as she said something that eluded him and ran away, taking her damned scent with her and leaving Naraku behind who it seemed to not want to answer his question.

"I'm sorry your highness, you would have to ask her yourself," replied the hanyou and just left Sesshoumaru standing there.

Not missing a beat, the taiyokai gave chase. He wasn't about to let her escape, not when he felt she had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

**T**aking several deep breaths as she came to a stop near one of the farthest crystal window, she hoped she had succeeded in losing the persistent demon. She didn't have time to be moping around. She needed to be working on her mission not being chased by an old lover that obviously didn't want anything to do with her. So why was he chasing her? Maaya didn't know and didn't care. She just knew that it was inconsequent. Not important. A waste of time.

Fine, she was scared. That was Aki, Yuu's father. The yokai she now had to inform she had a son with. A hanyou son which was a lie. A powerful yokai who went to that Sesshoumaru's Gala thing. What was she going to do? Run away like a coward. Run away like a woman who was going to keep her son no matter the odds against her. She had to leave, she decided.

As she turned around a hand trapped her against the window. Hypnotized, she looked at it. Claw like nails, while silk skin, two magenta stripes formed the bigger appendage. Oh, she knew that hand. Not being able to move as her eyes widen in realization, she felt a breath against her neck as it slowly reached her ear.

"I found you," the husky voice whispered against her skin, "Maaya."

"A-a-aki," she stuttered. Was it possible to be so unlucky? No, she didn't think so as she felt her heart beat increase with the memories of a better night than that one. "W-what are you doing here?"

* * *

**A/N**

Another chapter redone. As some may have appreciated, the chapter is longer and a little more descriptive on many things. There have been some changes, especially the way Maaya approaches Naraku and how Sesshoumaru tracks her down. She won't pass out. I really thought that was stupid in the first place and quite not something that wouldn't really happen. Besides, I think I like this way better than as I had previously written. I find the chase charming. Hopeful it will also come off as more lust driven than before.

_Seleni Argyrios_


	6. Chapter 6

**Vocabulary**

Shichinintai – Band of Seven made of Bankotsu (leader), Jakotsu, Suikotsu, Kyokotsu, Mukotsu, Renkotsu and Ginkostu.

Kappa – River-child also called Kawatarou (river-boy) or Kawako (river-child). They are a type of water sprite found in Japanese folklore. Many think Jaken is a kappa. He certainly fits the description since when Sesshoumaru found him there was a war in a river (not sure). He could also be a frog but I went with the most mythological being. I will also refer to him as toad once in a while

Kekkai – Barrier

Shikon no Kakera – Jewel Fragment

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

**Chapter 6: In the Wrong Hands**

**H**e didn't know if to be surprise or just irritated. She dared question him. Nobody dared question him. But just listening to the name she called him; he guessed she still had no idea. It had been two year and a half since he had seen her and she was still ignorant of his identity. Sesshoumaru wasn't sure what to do with that information so he settled for cold anger as his pride demanded. Concentrating in the actual facts, he made a list of things for which to punish her. First, she had been accompanied by Naraku. He hated the man so she should too. Second, she had been aroused while near the same despicable hanyou. The only person who should make her feel like that was him. Last, she hadn't approached him when she saw him. There was no need to think she hadn't recognized him. It was clear she had or she wouldn't have run away. Why had she run? He wanted to find out just as soon as it was clear to whom she belonged to.

"What did you have to talk to Naraku about?" He demanded. His voice firm and low next to her ear while he ignored her question. He would eventually answer that.

Maaya opened her mouth to say something, but the words got lost between her brain and her lips. He was so close that her thought process was interrupted. His sinful mouth merely inches away from her collarbone, his large body caging her against the window. The warmth, the closeness, the desire and everything that made him overwhelmed her. She wanted to cry, to throw herself at him and hug him as if she had returned home. But she didn't dare. She hardly knew the yokai and, per a universal rule, she should be slapping him for the things he had done, or maybe for what he hadn't done.

Trying to meld herself into the crystal, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back. His low growl soon resonated through her body. She remembered a few times he had done that during that night but decided that she would dwell on those thoughts once she was far away from him.

Sesshoumaru didn't like her rejection. Regardless, he complied. He took a step back and looked at her. Her hair was slightly messed with several strands falling on her face which she nervously hid behind her ear seconds after. Her long tresses falling around her like a waterfall did little to hide the provocative dress she wore. It had a heart shaped bodice with sparkles that when on to the end of the floor length skirt. The midsection hugged her body nicely making more noticeable her curves and it was see-through. From where he was, he could see a smooth calf sticking out from the dress which made him wonder until where the slit went. Sparks of desire clouded his mind for a moment as he wished to touch her milky skin under the black dress, but he managed to keep himself in check. She didn't want him at the moment and he would respect that.

"You haven't answered," he pointed out coldly after a minute of silent contemplance.

She hadn't noticed that she been so caught up in her own thought that she had forgotten to reply. Even then it was hard to understand what he asked and to think of an answer. God, he was so gorgeous with those raging golden eyes. The fitting suit made more prominent his wide shoulders and gave him an air of inner strength. She had almost forgotten the way he carried himself as if the world should bow to his might.

"I-I don't think it matters," she stutter seconds after.

"It doesn't?" He asked her. "I have a right to know."

"A right?" The words mumbled in her head. He had said he had a right to know, she was sure. It didn't make sense. What right did he have? "I think you're confusing me with some else. Your fiancée maybe?" She hesitated when she said that.

Sesshoumaru shook his head in denial. He was not confused. Maaya nodded in return as if his gesture was the assurance that she needed to unleash her anger.

"If that's the case then you have no right to question me," she pointed a finger at him in warning when he tried to interrupt her. "You don't know me and I'm not your girlfriend, just a one night stand. Whatever business I had with Naraku is not something that concerns you, Musashi-san. Now excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

Troubled with getting out of there as fast as she could, Maaya went around him and began to make her way toward the entrance of the Gala but a clawed hand stopped her on her tracks. Did the guy ever give up?

"So you're Naraku's bitch now?" His voice sounded dangerous as a growl was intertwined with his words. It was enough to make her pause. She had read somewhere that yokai could go on a killing rampage if they fell something was owed to them. She wasn't sure what was due to the demon, but she thought it wise to stay and see how he reacted.

"That is personal information, mister, and none of your business," she replied. Her voice was cold and uncaring when, in reality, she was anxiously munching his words in her head and trying to make some sense out of them. What was his interest in Naraku?

He narrowed her eyes at her. It was quite obvious she was in a hurry to return to someone; and since she didn't even denied his words, he had a pretty good guess who the someone was. Her reticence about the topic made him think that the bastard had her nicely trapped and unwilling to let go. Did the hanyou made love to her better that he had done it? Did he kiss as good? Why did Sesshoumaru even care?

"Is he that good?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Is this supposed to be some kind of vengeance or you just need the money so badly that you'll do anybody?"

The slap resonated as soon as the words left his mouth. His eyes were wide in surprise as he looked at her in amazement and incredulity. She dared to hit him. Nobody had done that. Ever. He should have anticipated such a strong reaction but he left his guard down and now his cheek stung so bad it felt like it was burning.

Maaya's eyes where blue fires as she looked at the insolent demon in righteous rage.

"I don't know what your problem is," she said in a calm she didn't feel, "but better fix it soon because I won't let you insult me just because you feel like it." Her breathing was coming out hard. The pressure of containing the agitation she felt was straining.

"My problem is only one," announced Sesshoumaru and stepped toward her. He was close, too close for confront as he lowered his eyes to Maaya's parted mouth. Licking his own lips in anticipation, he lowered his head a little. Her huge black eyes were fixed on him, surprise and uncertain radiating from them. She didn't know what to do with him so near and that masculine smell of his invading her personal space, making thinking and reacting a little more difficult that previously predicted. His hand glided to her shin which he held and angled, ready for him. Coming closer still, he hovered over her lips for a couple of seconds before speaking again. By then his voice was a husky whispered that caused a shiver to rise in her back. "You," he mumbled before pressing his mouth to hers. He took her lower lip into between his teeth and nibbled.

Maaya was stunned, but the feelings caught to her fast enough to allow the forgotten desire to revive as her eyes closed in bliss. Not feeling anything else but the warmth of his mouth on hers, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in making the somewhat hesitant kiss into burning passion. Sesshoumaru pressed her to him as he overpowered her mouth fully. Sucking at her tongue as he found the cut in her skirt that had beforehand captured his attention, he moved his hand upward, following her firm thigh and continuing until he had a solid grasp on her ass. Stumbling blindingly, he pressed her against a window. Caressing her ass and leaving her succulent mouth to suck at her neck, he made a grab for her panties only for her to pull his face back to her and kiss him as if there was no tomorrow. Finding the small piece of cloth that covered her, he began to pull them down not wanting to rip them off and savor the feel of taking them himself.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" A shriek came through the hazy passion that enclosed them. "Lord Sesshoumaru, where are you?" the annoying voice of his butler Called again. _'What did the irritating kappa want now?'_ He thought as he kissed the woman in front of him with abandon. "Oh there you are my Lord. We have…" his beaky mouth hanged opened as he saw as his master began to move away from the woman who had her leg wrapped around his hip.

Annoyed at the interruption, Sesshoumaru glared at his servant expecting this one to scram before he got any angrier. Jaken's stupid face hadn't cleared off yet, but he was sure the kappa had followed him for a reason.

"Yes, Jaken," he said, drawing the attention of the idiot to him.

"Oh, yes, yes, my lord. Inuyasha was looki…"

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" Maaya interrupted while looking at 'Aki' in anger as it began to dawn on her. "What do you mean by Lord Sesshoumaru?" She had to ask even when the situation said it all by itself.

"What do you think wench, he's the Lord of the West, Taishou Sesshoumaru," replied Jaken with pride and superiority obviously thinking her stupid.

"You lied to me!" Maaya accused him as she stumbled away from the inu who reached for her. She swatted his hands away. "Where you planning to use and discard me like a common whore? Were you trying to prove a point by doing it or the whole purpose of it was to extract revenge against your enemy? How dare you try to use me?" She cried with indignation. "God, I'm such an idiot!" She chastised herself for her stupidity. She had been happy at one point, delirious even. Thinking that she had finally found the father of her son also made her static, but to be honest she had been happy for herself. Somehow she felt she had found the man of her dreams only he wasn't a man. He was a heartless demon, a cruel businessman that only sought anything that would help him win the upper hand over his opponents.

For so many months she had hoped to find him. She foolishly belief in a happy ever after when it had been obvious that it wasn't going to happen. She had never been among the lucky and she was sure she wasn't going to be now. She didn't even want to begin thinking about Yuu's involvement on the matter. Her son was the heir to the Western Districts. If Sesshoumaru even found out he had a son, he would make sure the pup was raised with him, in his gigantic mansion under his boring rules. Away from his mother. She didn't doubt it for a second. She had heard stories of the taiyokai, some about his involvement in the Great War as one of the leaders of the yokai fractions, others about his tactics as an unrivaled businessman. In either one he was ruthless. It didn't occur to Maaya that it could be different when it came to his family. Why would it be when she was just an obstacle, a tool to be use and later discarded when she was not needed?

"I need to leave," was all she said after a minute of silence. Her voice sounded hollow and hoarse from trying to control her emotions and tears. She needed to get away from him, his scent, his voice, his memories. She just needed to go. After that she would do a lot of thinking or maybe sleep. That sounded good. It was obvious that whatever was happening had to be a bad dream, a nightmare, nothing more.

But before leaving, Kohaku and Miroku needed to know everything that had happened regarding Naraku. That was the reason she was there, because of her job. She was a professional and she would act like one. Taking several steps toward the ballroom, she wasn't that surprised that his figure interposed between her and the doors.

"Where are you going?" He asked her. It appeared like the shock had already passed but it didn't seem like she was ok either. There was something about her that had changed. She was determined about something. He could guess leaving, but, at the same time, it wasn't the only thing.

"Not that you would care, but I'm returning to your party," she told him trying to side step him.

To Sesshoumaru it only meant she was returning to Naraku and it irritated him. He understood that he had lied but it was beyond him why she would to go back to the disgusting hanyou. For the first time that night, he felt his anger was getting the better of him. He growled as he tried to control himself but he could feel his eyes changing to red. The need to keep her from going to another male and discarding him as if he wasn't enough didn't sit well with him.

"You are not going anywhere," it sounded like an order and to make sure it was followed. He stayed between her and the door.

"Move out of my way, Ak-Sesshoumaru, or I'll move you," she warned.

Thinking fast he blurted out the first thing that came into his heated head. "I'll take you home."

Maaya's eyes almost bulged out of her head when he said that. Fear began to consume her thoughts from just imagining what could happen when they got there. "No," she answered fast, too fast and it made him suspicious.

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes giving a step towards her.

"Be… because," she said thinking of a way to make him stay, "I-I I'm not going home right and it's too dangerous and too dirty and so not a place for you to be at," she improvised hoping he let it go.

"Don't lie," his voice was a low rumble. Like a predator, he looked at her with narrowed eyes, observing each movement in detailed fascination and making her squirm under his watchful eyes. Maaya was trying to act natural, but it was hard to do so when he was looking at her like she was a war prisoner. "Is there somebody you don't want me to see?" He asked her.

"No," said Maaya in a strangely high pitched tone. He smiled.

"Who?" He whispered in her ear.

"Nobody," she said with more calm. She had to convince the taiyokai to drop it. "Now out of my way, I'm leaving."

"I said I would take you," repeated Sesshoumaru.

"Oh, I know what you said. I'm just choosing to ignore it."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," he stated.

"Don't tempt me," she warned.

"And what will you do," he asked not really expecting much.

"This," she said as her eyes once more changed to a baby blue color and a thin energy began to come from her hands. Weaving the power with her mind, it soon wrapped around Sesshoumaru making a cage around him. Surprised by that, he just watched as she went around him and instead of heading toward his party, she headed for the elevators. Not liking things a bit, he tried to attack the cage only to be pushed back. It didn't mean he had given up, not by a long shot.

* * *

**K**aguya had been looking for the bitch that had stolen several of her mate's minutes when she wasn't present. She had told him to not talk to any woman when she wasn't there but, as always, he didn't mind her. Well, it was Naraku who she was talking about, he always did what he felt like. However, it bothered her that she had no power over the bastard, not even when they were out in public.

Everything had been better when she had been married to his half-brother. But everything good always came to an end. It was a sad day when she found her husband in the floor of her room holding a bottle. The police said he died of natural death, something the Yokai society had never heard of. But she couldn't tell them that her husband had died accidentally when he mistook his favorite bottle of wine for an experimental drug called Sin with C.M.P. The drug, if ingested in high amounts, it would cause death. And the best part was that it would leave no trace that it had ever been in the body. That had only been a prototype, but it had worked just as fine as the actual drug that in a few months from now would be ready for marketing.

Still, she found herself with the same problem, Naraku. He had married her because he needed the money his brother had and she, as Kagewaki Hitomi's widow, could give it to him. She had been useful back then, but she wasn't worth anything now. He already had Hitomi's money, contracts and connection. There was absolutely nothing else she could make available. At this point, Kaguya was expendable. However, she didn't want to be. There had to be a way to make herself stronger and vital. She needed to find something she could do or she would end up as her husband, and she wasn't looking forward to die yet.

As she thought of her possible futures, she found the dark haired beauty her mate had been so enthralled with. The onna was talking with Sesshoumaru or more like arguing before a heated embraced between the two left her stone cold. Kaguya wasn't sure what to think. This was the first she had seen the Western Dignity do something more than ignore one of his women. Curiosity getting the better of her, made her stay through the display of emotions the two beings were showing before being interrupted by the annoying kappa. More arguing ensued before Sesshoumaru was caged and the woman left. Kaguya was speechless. Not only the woman had left the once Lord there looking like an idiot but she had a special kind of energy. That flowing power rang a couple of bells in Kaguya's memories and she briefly wondered if it could be the person she needed at the time. Sure, her previous plan hadn't worked all those years back, but now with another opportunity, things could go a different way. Besides, there too many things to gain from this; so many pleasures that maybe, the risk was worth taking.

Getting her cell phone out, she marked a number. It belonged to the only person she could trust with such matters because if Naraku knew, Kaguya was sure he would covet the woman for himself –not that he hadn't tried it that night. Hearing the calling tone ring three times before it sent her to the voice mail, she didn't waste time in frivolities.

"Shishinki, its Kaguya. I need you to come back to Japan. I think I found someone who could contribute with our situation but I need you to see for yourself before I'm positive. She knows Sesshoumaru and had a special type of energy. I think her name is Maaya. Call back as soon as you hear the message," she said before hanging up and returning to her 'beloved' mate.

* * *

**H**astily walking to the elevators, she frantically pushed the buttons a couple more times to be sure it was coming to pick her up fast. Nervously, she looked toward the entrance more than once, expecting Sesshoumaru to jump out of a corner and surprise her. It really wouldn't shock her if he did, even if she was counting on her power net to hold him long enough for her to leave.

She had decided that it was time to depart after all. It seemed to be impossible to lose the taiyokai if he persisted in hanging around her like a guardian dog. She would have laughed at that analogy if it wasn't because she wasn't in laughing mood after the brief interaction. His presence had put a damp in her plans. Actually, it had done more than that but Maaya wasn't willing neither to admit nor analyze what that entailed. She better called Kohaku and told him the failure of their mission. It would certainly keep her mind away from her new problem for a couple of minutes before she tackled the dilemma. But before she could do that, it was better to be out of the scenting range of the demon.

As she waited for the elevator to appear, hurried steps and hushed voices got her attention. They weren't far from her, just around the corner, and she wondered what it could be. Her intuition told her to check that it could be important so she walked toward entrance of the hall where the northern elevators were. She wasn't surprised to find a group of seven men carrying a pedestal and a woman. They were dressed in black suits but their heads were covered with ski masks to keep their identities hidden. The woman hung unconsciously from the shoulders of one of the kidnappers. The man was muscled like a house. Even decently dressed he still looked like a gorilla with long thick hands and small but strong legs. His eyes were small and of an ugly black color that sent shiver down her spine. He was dangerous.

Maaya didn't have a good view of the victim, but she guessed there were so many people one would want to kidnap in this party. She also recognized the deep blue halter dress the woman wore. It was Kagome, which meant that the criminals had to have been hired by Naraku. No one else was stupid enough to try and steal the Shikon no Tama and the Miko from a Taishou. But she had no proof, so tagging along unnoticed was the best option she had.

As the group moved south, down the hall close to her elevators, she made to follow them. She could go and get help but it would take too long and the criminals would be long gone from the building before anyone came back. She could be a distraction and might be able to help. However, before she was able to follow them, she was caged by the group of men.

"Look what we have here Bankotsu, somebody trying to sneak off and alert the police," said the man who had a pair of tiny brown eyes and two horizontal lines in his face that were barely visible. "The little lady has some guts," he added smiling under his mask.

The man with the long braid inspected her as if he was looking at a cockroach that couldn't do much damage but it could be really annoying. He thought what to do for a minute before speaking.

"Take her with us. I don't want witnesses and she looks like she could fetch a fair price together with the miko," he said with little interest and walked back the way he came. "Hurry up, there are a couple of dangerous demons after us and this place is not safe."

"Yes, boss," said the stripe-faced man mockingly.

He took Maaya's arm and pulled her toward the end of the hall. She tried to pull her hand free from his hold hoping that her strength would be enough to delay them while she someone heard her, but the man tugged harder. She resisted in his grasp but he was stronger than he looked. As a last resource, she screamed wondering if somebody would hear her with all the noise in the party, but he covered her mouth. She tried to bite his hand unsuccessfully only gaining a slap for her actions. Still, she fought against him in vain until he hit the back of her head and she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Women," he tsked, "so annoying." He picked her up and made his way to toward the Southern elevator which was less used at that time.

* * *

**S**esshoumaru had forgotten the presence of his annoying butler as he tried to release himself from the cage the annoying woman had surprised him with. The energy she used was unique, he admitted, and so holy that only a miko came to mind when he thought of what she could be. Even then he wasn't sure. He had never seen anything like this before. Going against it didn't seem to be making any progress so, letting out his light whip. He tried it against the whitish bars. They sizzled but still stood. No apparent damage had been made. It frustrated him but, while imprisoned, he might as well find out what the kappa wanted.

"Jaken," he said with a voice void of emotion that sent the kappa into a trembling bout, "what did you come to tell me?"

"Milord, the half breed was looking for his miko but couldn't find her. He said to come and ask if you had seen her," said the kappa avoiding his master's eyes.

"No, I haven't," he said instantly feeling that something was wrong. Kagome knew better than to just disappear from her mate's presence during a party with Naraku hanging around. She was smarter than that, which made him wonder if she had been kidnapped. It could be, he thought in worry, but he had expert bodyguards there. They wouldn't let anything happen to her unless they were knocked out. Silently coursing, he attacked the cage with more force feeling it waver under his assault. Along with his freedom, a scream was heard from the elevator. Unknowingly, he was on edge. "Tell Inuyasha to come as fast as he can to the north elevators," he ordered and moved toward the exit.

Walking briskly, he looked around not seeing anything out of the ordinary except a group of men who were walking down the hall close by. They were carrying something heavy and he saw the outline two other people being carried away. He immediately picked the mask they wore as one looked his way. The man mumbled something and they ran. Sesshoumaru followed almost catching them as they closed the door of the Konjaku Room right in his face. He punched the wooden obstacle with all his might, but some powerful sutras had been placed over it to stop him from entering. He didn't think the men had planned to take over the room from the beginning. If they were somewhat intelligent, they would have tried to leave before making any demands if it was part of their plans. So, most likely they didn't have time to make it to the elevators and escape. It was fine by him, but now that there were two hostages, the less important one might be scarified or used as bargaining tool. He doubted that Kagome was going to be release without a fight but Maaya was expendable.

A menacing growl materialized in his throat and came forth as a warning. He didn't like it one bit. Both females were in danger and all he could do was try to bash the damned door in with their scent soothing and angering him at the same time. The sutras making his progress slow and painful as his claws bled each time he tried to tear the door with Dokkasou. Eventually changing to his acid whip, he hoped that Inuyasha and the monk could move faster.

Minutes later, Inuyasha appeared with Miroku and Kohaku tailing behind. Sesshoumaru had given up in the door but he was planning other ways to flush the criminals out. Frowning slight when the other police officer appeared, he simply ignore it and decided to go right to ordering them into action.

"Kohaku, call the police, Kagome and Maaya have been kidnapped with the Shikon no Tama," he said with a calm voice that could have fooled anyone.

"What?" Inuyasha yelled.

"Maaya?" Kohaku and Miroku said at the same time.

"Yes. The criminals are wearing masks but by their number and actions I'm guessing there are professionals. I want a team checking all the entrances and exits of these building. The might not have planned to be stuck in that room but they will try to light their burden before trying to escape. One of the females is in danger, and I can pretty much guess which one," he waited for the information to sink in before continuing. "Miroku, I need you to work on the sutras that are blocking the door. See if you can make out where others might be and use your power to deactivate them. Inuyasha keep banging in the door, maybe it will fall if you try hard enough," he ordered. "Don't forget that they are after the Shikon and that'll keep them busy for a while. Jaken," he called and the kappa was seconds after groveling at his feet. "Find out what happened to my bodyguards."

* * *

**T**here was some noise, like something hitting metal or crystal, maybe it was both, but everything sounded so far away and the new developed headache wasn't making things easier to discern. _'What happened?'_ She asked herself as she opened her eyes. Everything looked hazy and the light hurt her eyes but eventually she was able to recreate in her mind the picture her eyes captured. In front of her, a group of men were trying to break something. She didn't know what it was since she couldn't see it but the spark that flew around when the bar hit it told her it was a barrier. Concentrating more on herself, she noticed her hands where bound when she tried to move and a closer look around the room reminded her that she wasn't alone. Kagome was in another chair nearby with her arms tied behind the chair as well.

She felt like coming out of a fog, but she remembered now why she was in this situation. She had been kidnapped by this group of men she now suspected to be the Shichinintai. The policed had been tipped of their arrival in Kyoto. If she remembered correctly, somebody was supposed to be tailing them. Maybe the police officer that had that job lost them or he could be dead by now. It was said they didn't like anything that had to do with the government unless it was about killing them and money.

There were little possibilities of getting out in on piece, but there was a citizen present and her job was to keep her save and no matter how dangerous things could get, which was what she was going to do. However, just dying didn't rank as one of her top priorities and being suicidal wasn't her so, with the outmost care to avoid being discovered, she tested her powers. Since they were relatively new, she was still trying to get the hang of them, but she was getting better, at least her control over them was.

As she focused in freeing herself, her eyes changed to the usual baby blue. Concentrating the wild energy, she made it hot enough to melt iron as the ropes that tied her hands were incinerated into nothingness. The effort in taming the energy was tiring her out but she counted in her mind to let her sustain at least two more barriers before she was too exhausted. She just hoped that they lasted more than the last one. Sesshoumaru's cage had taken more concentration than she had noticed. His constant attacks had taken a lot of juice out of her arsenal and had left her tired. While she pondered how to solve the situation, the sound of something cracking and the group cheering for their good fortune reached her ears. They almost had the Shikon in their hands and she could see it becoming darker from their proximity. Their escape had to wait a little. If Naraku received the impure jewel from these people, it would be a disaster.

She concentrated in creating a barrier around the pedestal and soon after she heard the bar fly from the hands of the man with the long braid as it bounced back from it. That was one characteristic that it made her kekkai unique and better than the holy ones the miko created. Those were hard and stiff, easier to break if hit with enough strength, but hers were flexible and adaptable, not as strong and more useful. She heard the man curse under his breath and ordered.

"Check if the Taishou woman is awake, she's the only one that can create a barrier."

Maaya didn't want the men to get near her charge, they could hurt her to make sure she was still unconscious so she stood in her shaky legs and threw herself over Kagome's figure just one step away. She hardly had enough time to place a barrier around them before one of the men went head first into it. The barrier wasn't a big one, just small enough to keep them both inside and safe. If needed, she could move toward the door and escape. But she couldn't leave just yet, although fighting against seven powerful wanted criminals wasn't going to be fun.

"So you are a miko?" The one they called Bankotsu asked.

Maaya decided to ignore him and concentrate on keeping the barriers up since she wasn't that strong at the moment.

"Answer me," he screamed and made Maaya jerk, still she didn't respond. Instead, she began to move the pedestal closer to her without the man noticing.

"Bankotsu," said an effeminate voice behind the man, "this thing is moving."

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"The pedestal is moving," repeated the man.

When he turned around, she made the pedestal move so quickly that it almost hit the man in the head. Lucky for him he was fast enough and moved out of the way. However, the thing was in collision course with them. Not expecting that at all, she pushed Kagome out of the chair and covered the woman with her body. Soon after, the pedestal hit the wall with a loud thug and broke in pieces that fell on her. One of the fragments hit her head and almost made her barrier fall, but somehow she managed to stay conscious. There were too many things to look after before fainting like finding the Shikon no Tama. She looked frantically until she found the jewel cracked in two with half near her and the other half outside the barrier, where the madmen where hitting the kekkai with steel pipes nonstop. She could have pulled the fragment the same way she had pulled the pedestal but the only energy left in her was to keep the barrier that surrounded them from falling apart. She had to be faster than the men. She had to do it before they noticed the Shikon no Kakera at their feet.

As fast as she could, she went near the end of her barrier, stretched her hand and closed it around the jewel. However, the men weren't the least stupid and as soon as she got her hands on the Shikon they began to bang her limb hoping that she would let go of the Kakera or her arm, whichever came first. But Maaya didn't let go and she pulled herself back holding the Shikon on her bloodied hand. She couldn't open it, or feel it, but the doctors could take care of that when she got out of there alive. That was if she didn't fall unconscious from the loss of blood before she made it to the door.

Determined to get them out of there, she stood in shaking legs and grabbed Kagome's arm with her good hand. As slow as she could, Maaya pulled the miko's dead weight toward the door. The banging on her barrier resonated in her ears making her head throb. Her vision began to grow fuzzy and dark in the corners, but it only made her more determined to reach her goal. Her breathing was taxing and agitated, and the hand was killing her. The slow pace toward the door was agonizing but she managed to touch the knob before the darkness swallowed her.

* * *

**S**esshoumaru had been feeling the shift in power inside the room and the scent of blood that leaked from under the door was drowning his senses. He wanted to know what was going on. What had happened to Maaya and, of course, Kagome? But he couldn't enter the place because it was full of sutras, an annoying thing that monks invented thousands of years ago. They weren't dangerous to powerful demons like him but they could be bothersome and cause small injuries that could give the advantage to an enemy. Not only that, but the place was mined with them. He couldn't even break the wall to reach them.

"Sesshoumaru," called Inuyasha. "Someone is near the door."

The taiyokai was next to him in seconds and sniffed. Sesshoumaru could feel somebody standing behind the entrance but he couldn't say who. It was like they were behind a barrier. His uncertainty only lasted a couple second until he smelled wild berries and blood. The scent made both males uneasy. Hesitating for a second, the taiyokai reached for the door and opened it with no difficulties. It seemed the annoying papers had been burned right off the walls and door. In front of them, the criminals were pulling back the two women like they were rag dolls. Both of them were unconscious, but only one was seriously hurt.

Inuyasha didn't feel that different after affirming that his mate was ok. He was still angry and beyond pissed. His smile was wide and pure animalistic as he looked at the seven idiots who had committed the worst mistake of their lives when they kidnapped the Taisho Jewel. Sesshoumaru was the opposite. He wasn't smiling in glee with the knowledge that he was going to kill them. He was mad with rage. He was literally seeing red. Why? He really didn't want to consider that question so he just jumped into action and disappeared into the room followed by his half brother.

Hollers of pain vibrated through the walls as the two brothers' extracted revenge. Naraku was lucky to not be there, but he was next on the list. If the hanyou was still in the gala, Sesshoumaru would make sure he paid, with proof or not of his participation.

* * *

**B**y the time the police and paramedics arrived, the almost corpses were stacked outside the room waiting for someone to pick them up. Although they were in pretty bad condition, the paramedics didn't go near them after making sure the two females were taken care of.

Maaya's arm was broken in four places, twice in the humerus and in the radius and ulna. Also, other parts of the limb had cracks but it was nothing that wouldn't fix itself with the doctor's help. None of her fingers worked but they had been able to get the Shikon no Kakera from her hand. She had suffered a mild concussion in the head and they needed a doctor to check it out before it was ascertained that it was nothing serious. Added to that, she had several deep cuts and internal bleeding. She was still unconscious from the extreme use of her powers and didn't show any signs of waking up anytime soon.

Kagome, on the other hand, had woken up minutes after they had taken her out of the room. She had a headache that, the paramedics assured, was from a blow to the back of her head most likely made during the struggle when they kidnapped her. They recommended also taking her to the doctor but the stubborn miko guaranteed them that she felt fine.

Sesshoumaru, however, was another matter. The taiyokai might be physically well but his face was stern. Kagome knew that look. It was very similar to the one Inuyasha got when he didn't like something. She knew that to everyone else, that was the look he always had, but she had learned to tell the difference with time. He was worried. She wondered why. Sesshoumaru wasn't the warmest of beings and usually cared little about anyone else. She agree that the woman didn't look good and that she should be grateful for saving her from those thugs, and she was. But why did Sesshoumaru care? He wouldn't like her would he? Nah, impossible. She had never seen the Lord of the West with the same woman twice and none of them made it beyond the room of a hotel. However, her savior was getting more attention that she had even gotten herself and she was, what many called, closed to the Lord.

Kagome's mind began to tick as the gears inside her head moved frantically with new ideas and hypothesis. Each one made her eyes almost bulged out of shock. It just wasn't possible. She looked at Sesshoumaru once again to see him frowning. Following his line of sight, she saw Kohaku follow Maaya who was in a stretcher.

"They came together, you know," she told him.

"Hm."

"If you're jealous you should just admit it."

"Why would I be." As usual, it was a statement. Lord Sesshoumaru was above such petty feelings.

"Oh, well, you know, because you like her?" Kagome asked. She was beginning to doubt her own assessment.

"I don't feel such things." Turning around, he left the meddlesome woman wondering what she had said wrong that he snapped at her.

He, in truth, might be feeling resentful at the moment. He couldn't just ignore that Maaya looked so pale and weak that it made him feel something. That kind of admittance was shocking. But not as shocking as seeing her like that when she had been fighting him teeth and nails minutes before. However, Kohaku bothered him more than her injury and his resurrecting feelings. For some reason, Sesshoumaru felt like growling at the boy and staking a claim on Maaya, which was ridiculous. He didn't want to keep the woman so why act like he cared.

Maybe it had to do with the boy's warning look. There was something in them that he didn't like. Possessiveness? Protectiveness? Sesshoumaru didn't know which one neither did he care. He just knew that he didn't like his tone of voice.

"There is no need for the Western Dignity to get involve with some unknown woman who was kidnapped with the Taishou Jewel" said Kohaku. His voice dangerous and warning the demon away. "As far as I know, you were the last one who saw Maaya. I don't know what happened between you two of you, but whatever it was, she was not thinking straight and made such a colossal mistake. I would prefer you didn't go near her again. She's not somebody you should mess with."

This time he let it go. But there wasn't going to be a second one. He would find her he decided. 'And then, she is not getting away from me' he thought as he walked away to take care of his ruined Ball.

* * *

**A/N**

The re-made sixth chapter. Sesshoumaru, at the beginning, sounds like a whining brat. It's just that he is jealous and doesn't know how to express it. Besides, he sees Maaya as someone who disobeyed him and that warrants punishment. The possessive part it's usually directed toward people he cares about so he doesn't notice what he is doing until later on. It just seemed normal, something his instincts told him. That translates as "Not his beast, but his instincts recognizes things he doesn't want to see or admit." That part of him is a driving feeling not something that can talk or semi-talk.

The kidnapping part changed a little too, as well as the argument between Maaya and Sesshoumaru. She is no longer suicidal so she won't be jumping out a window. Sesshoumaru still doesn't know she has a son. Kagome is more involved at the end and she actually talks. Everybody can tell the difference in the reiki once she uses her powers. And other that I don't remember. I recommend reading the chapter again because, even if they still say the same , there are a lot of new details that will contribute to the story late on.

_Seleni Argyrios_


	7. Chapter 7

**Vocabulary**

Ano hito – That person

Sakasagami Yokai – Hair Demon

Sun Yee On– A mafia groups that its part of the Chinese Triad based on Hong Kong with ramifications thought central China. The Leader is Heung Wa Yim who took over after his father.

Obaa-san – Aunt

Ojii-san - Uncle

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

**Chapter 7: One Step Closer**

**H**e took the small cell phone and pressed 1 again to listen to the message Kaguya had left him. It was short and somewhat vague but it had all he needed to make him pack what was left of the few belonging scattered across the cheap hotel room. He was almost done since he had been filling his suitcase before he had heard the phone ring. That had been an unusual surprise since he rarely received any calls during a business trip. As a rule, nobody called him unless it was important and most of his calls were taken by his servant. If those calls were deemed important enough, then his servant called him to let him know the reason, the person who called and a contact number. Shishinki was very careful with whom he gave his number and his eyeless servant knew better than to give it away without his permission.

Upon hearing that phone ring, his first thought had been to leave the voice mail received the message which he would listen to later on his way to meet an important representative of the Sun Yee On. Assuming that it was probably his servant calling about something regarding a business, he saw no need to hurry in that regard. However, something compelled him to listen to the message. Opening his phone, he paid attention to the window saying '1 missed call' in dark letters. He selected the show button and a bigger window appeared showing him different phone numbers. The top one said 'unknown', something that only helped to intrigue him.

He decided to listen to the message this desperate person had left him when he was working, thinking it was unimportant. However, he found himself listening to it three more time before he was sure he had heard right. He smiled before leaving his phone charging and returned to packing more fervently that before.

He thought what he was to do before leaving for Japan. He had to cancel a meeting in Hong Kong and go directly to the airport where he would take a plane, and arrive in Tokyo in several hours. His vengeance was awaiting him in Kyoto and he couldn't help but plan what he was going to do. Feeling that it was no longer a thing of the past, he unconsciously touched the mask that covered half of his face as a dazed look appeared in his face. He remembered clearly who had caused it and he was going to make sure both of them paid for it. He knew where Maaya was going to end. He was going to sell her to Kaguya, she had wanted her for so long and it was bad enough he had lost his cargo the day Hitomiko decided she had had enough of him. And his bitch, she had a lot to pay for. How he wanted that payment he wasn't sure yet, but her bill was coming for her. The scar in his face was her doing and that had a high prize. The time he had to spend alone without her was also hellish but he wasn't sure if it balanced out his face. 'No matter,' he told himself mentally licking his lips. 'There is the rest of her live to pay off the debt.'

In his excitement he began to push all his things together without bothering to organize them. It was hard for the suitcase to close but he somehow managed. Getting out of the room, he headed for the lobby and picked a taxi to take him to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. Also calling his servant, he told him to find someone to take care of the business in Hong Kong and to change his plane ticket to a flight to Tokyo. Shishinki guessed that letting Menomaru know that he wouldn't be able to make it to the meeting was kind of relevant. After all, he was supposed to be part of one of the more important negotiations between Japanese Yakuza and the Chinese Triad, but he really didn't find it in him to care about buying Chinese girls to take to Japan to work as prostitutes. Money and properties always took a second plane when things had to do with a yokai's mate. It was no secret that demons were possessive and territorial and he was no different. Well, maybe there was a little disparity, he had no morals and she was soon to find out her grave mistake in betraying him.

* * *

**T**ryingto move her arm was impossible. She couldn't feel it and it was itching like crazy. _'Why was it itching so much?'_ She wondered hazily. There was also a dull feeling in it that just begged her to move it. It was pain, she recognized. Opening her eyes a little, she blinked as she tried to see through the glaring light right overhead. Moving her only available hand, she tried to cover her eyes. She somewhat noticed that the walls were also an annoying sterile white color. She didn't know this place and felt disoriented. Her head was swimming and that annoying beeping wasn't helping with the coming headache either. Trying to right herself in the bed, something was tugged in her arm. Finally seeing the I.V., it dawned on her that she had to be in the hospital. The bed was certainly uncomfortable enough to be a clinic anyway. Vaguely wondering how long she had been there and how she was going to pay for it, she took a look around.

White met her eyes in whichever direction she looked and she hated it. She was already missing her little one room apartment with beige walls. Did Yuu know she was there? Had he come to visit her several times? Had the court date passed and he had been taken away from her? Slightly panicking, she tried to seriously stand and leave in search of her boy. Using her injured arm, which she noticed was in a cast, she tried to push herself up but the effort caused a sharp pain to ripple through her body. She hadn't felt it before because of the painkillers but they might be wearing off if the pain was any indication. Not giving up in the least, she was distracted by a soft snoring. She had missed the sound before but now it had her undivided attention. The sound was coming from a figure sleeping uncomfortably in the small, hard seat near the bed. The person was wearing a dark suit wrinkled from sleeping in the stool. The brown hair and the outline of a familiar face told her it was her partner and, by the clothe he was still wearing, it was most likely the day after the party and the horrid mission.

Letting out a sigh of relieve, she let herself relax before waking Kohaku up. However, this only made her think of that Gala. Now that she had the opportunity to think things through, she found herself considering how to stay away from Aki, Sesshoumaru, whichever. The fact was the Yuu was his heir and he would want him around. If he discovered the existence of his child, even if it was a hanyou one, he would do anything in his power to keep him safe. Maaya wasn't the least stupid. She knew the dangers that Yuu would face if someone discovered he was Sesshoumaru's son and the taiyokai was too honorable to let his own offspring be used against him, especially because he wouldn't be able to ignore it if Yuu was somehow kidnapped or was at risk. So, as long as the Western Dignity remained ignorant of that little detail, she would be able to work something out. That was not mentioning that she would probably end up in jail or something similar for hiding his successor from him. She made no mistake in thinking that the ruthless lord would be least merciful toward her after the Gala. Ok, there had been that particular confusing moment where he kissed her and when he had demanded to take her home, but she didn't think that was enough to want her near Yuu or him for the rest of her mortal life.

She considered Sesshoumaru to be the most urgent issue at the moment, but Yuu himself was another. Could she honestly say that she could still lie about his father's identity? Did she even want to? Just telling him out of the blue didn't seem right, and then he would want to meet the yokai and that couldn't happen. Well, explaining that to her baby wasn't going to be an easy feat. As a matter of fact, her feeling were so conflicting in that regard that she was considering just not saying anything unless her pup asked. Yuu hadn't inquired about his father yet, but Maaya felt the question coming. She would be rather surprise of he didn't ask after all the things happening.

Maybe thinking about her problems wasn't the best idea with the headache, and her body was feeling sorer by the minute. However, with absolutely nothing to do besides staying put, she had nothing to occupy her mind with. Sighing softly, she wondered what her baby might be doing. If he knew she was in the hospital he would be whining the whole time. Still, just because she hadn't made it home he would be whining. As it was known, inu were pack animals and Yuu being male made things more complicated. Maaya was his only blood relation, pack, as well as his mother, so he was extremely protective of her. Not being able to ascertain her well being might be driving him up a wall.

She briefly wondered how Mi would be faring in such a situation. Maybe she should call them and see how he was behaving. He could be a handful sometimes. Pushing her torso up with the uninjured hand, she decided that giving them a call wouldn't be so bad. Should she wake Kohaku up and ask him for his cell? She told herself not to do it. She doubted cell phones were allowed to be used in the room. She would have to move either way and she wasn't looking forward to waking the man up. He would probably give her the longest speech in history for her stupid actions. Besides, she wasn't leaving the hospital, just the room for a little while. In her defense she could say that the pain wasn't so bad that she couldn't move around. Better yet, she wasn't removing the I.V. She was taking it with her, mainly because she couldn't take the thing off with an injured arm.

Done convincing herself, Maaya moved her legs to fall off the edge of the bed and, moving as less as possible, she wiggled her way to the border before pushing herself lightly. Her bare feet touched the cold floor and she used the IV stand to balance herself before heading for the door. Trying her hardest not to grunt at the pain that assaulted her body each time she moved, she didn't notice her partner was now looking at her somewhat amused and worried.

Kohaku took in her appearance and, for a second, a dark shadow fell over his eyes. She looked so vulnerable and fragile that he was seriously considering a glass castle in which to imprison her. He never wanted to see her so hurt in what was left of his life. Seeing her attempted escape, he decided that letting her know that she was getting nowhere with a tactful 'Ahum' would be in his best interest before she got farther than the soft, back breaking bench he had been sleeping on.

Her surprised eyes turned his way as soon as she heard the sound hopefully expecting her guardian to be sleep. No such luck. Managing a tentative smile, Kohaku signaled to the bed with a warning look. She shook her head making the tangle tresses that were her hair fly around dangerously.

"Maaya," he said in a soft but warning voice. "Where are you going?"

"To make a call?" she answered cautiously.

"You can't. The public phones are in the first floor and you don't have cash," he told her matter-of-factly.

"But…" she pouted sweetly, "I wanna call Yuu." She returned her eyes to the door to remind herself of her destination.

"I can call Hitomiko and tell her to bring him here. He's been driving her crazy anyway," he said trying to make her comply without having to call a nurse. "Besides, you shouldn't be moving around. You were pretty hurt when they brought you in and they thought you would be in a coma for some time." He didn't elaborate. The emergency personnel had told him she might not even wake up at all. Apparently, the concussion had been more serious that he had anticipated. They also said that she might not be able to use her arm properly from then on but he wasn't so bent on trusting them anymore. She had been sleeping for ten hours straight but she was awake now after all; although he didn't see that in a positive light. Healing up so fast was not normal. If Kohaku had to take a guess, only a demon would heal this fast from brain damage. A miko would take months. A regular human could take years or not wake up at all."Why didn't you tell me you were a miko?" he asked her as he took the hand holding the IV and guided her back to the bed.

Maaya was surprise. "How do you know?" She stammered out as she let him get into the bed.

"Sesshoumaru mentioned it." He was bitter about that. Sesshoumaru had had a chance to do what he had wanted to, beat the crap out of those kidnappers. But more than that, he felt the taiyokai was closer to Maaya than him. He felt threatened by the demon's actions and he had tried to stop him from getting closer. If it had worked or not, Kohaku didn't have the slightest idea but if he had to guess, the inu thought of it as a challenge. Sesshoumaru would appear again, of that, he was certain.

Silence followed his declaration, both getting trapped in their own thoughts. None knew what to say and one of them thought that it really wasn't the other's business but she appreciated the concern.

Coming out if his personal reverie, Kohaku stepped away and headed for the door. "I'm going to call Mi and tell the doctor you are awake. She'll want to know."

"Ok," mumbled Maaya not paying attention.

He watched as she snuggled into the bed before leaving to get the doctor. In reality, he didn't want that woman near her. Kannon-sensei was quite a unique character but, when it came to Maaya, she was downright weird. Because the doctor was a water god, she always had a happy countenance and positive outlook in life. But when things came to his partner, he had the feeling that the sensei was pampering her too much. The woman skipped in happiness each time she came through the door for Kami's sake. He was still trying to figure out that one out, but it became obvious really fast that he was just getting a headache from it.

* * *

**A** shiver racked up her body as her inner thigh burned intensely. As a rule, she didn't like that at all. But, this time she just felt like she was getting sick. She was feverish and a cold sweat was beginning to cover her body. However, the part of her anatomy that felt most heated was the damned inner thigh. That was the only place in her body that she didn't like to feel anything. No heat, no cold, nothing. Because it only meant one thing. He had found her. She was sure this time.

Many times over the few years she had been away from him, she had felt her thigh burn but never with this intensity. It was due to his nearness. The closer he was to her, the hotter it burned. Still, it was also a matter of intent. If he was hell bend in finding her, if that truly was his wish, then the mark would flare the closer he got to her. And this time, he was getting closer with one purpose in mind, getting her back.

Mi wasn't about to let that happen. After all she had suffered; she had managed to rebuild something resembling a life. It was based on lies and deception, she admitted, but it was a life nonetheless. One she wasn't willing to give up without a fight. All her secrets made her feel bad at time, but it was of the essence that nobody found out about her. She didn't think she could live on if her friends shunned her because of whom she was mated to. Really, she couldn't blame them, because she would do the same if she were them.

The heat in her inner thigh pulsed with more fervor and she lightly moaned, worried lines etching her forehead. Everything had begun with Maaya, she was sure. There had been an incident at the party that had made her use her powers. Someone must have recognized her. Who? She didn't have the slightest clue, but Shishinki was a powerful, influential bastard and prostitution rings were all over the place. It wouldn't be too farfetched if one of the party goers was actually part of the Yakuza. All of this didn't solve her problems in the least but she was coming to a conclusion. If Shishinki had truly found her, no one in whole world would stop him from getting her back. Laws were very different between humans and yokai and a human mate had to abide by the yokai laws regardless of what they thought. Thankfully, this had provoked some wants in that department. Human women were used to being free and doing as they pleased so, when they mated, things took a 180º turn. That excessive freedom wouldn't be there anymore. Dominance, possessiveness, protectiveness and anything else that screamed that you belonged to a yokai where implemented. The territorial bastards went all out on that regards. Yokai female knew this, so they enjoyed their free time as much as they could, but if it wasn't their future husband's rules they had to follow; then there was the father's or the older brother's.

Yokai were really feudal in that regard. They thought of their females as property, well, most of them anyway. This had become an issue with more resent mating. Ningen females enjoyed their newfound freedom from their husbands. Mating a yokai and having restrictions place on them wasn't fair in the least.

However, that wasn't the real issue mating faced. In yokai law, the female usually took a back seat in the relationship and everything else about her life. All the decisions were left on the hands of the mate. Defiance over certain issues wasn't tolerated and, more often than not, females ended up being punished for these transgressions. How the punishment was carried out dependent on the mate but usually was very corporal ranging from simple assault to battery to sexual battery and sexual assault. She had been in the receiving end of these too many times to count since she had been mated to that bastard for way too long if you asked her. 63 years of taking his bullshit had been enough for her but she had already been too caught up in the circle to leave until she had met Maaya. The woman had something in her that screamed 'protect me'. Mi hadn't been able to deny it. The unthinkable had happen in a matter of minutes and she had been freed.

That freedom, she wasn't willing to give up. She would do anything to keep it, even abandoning her friends. She could begin anywhere anew but she needed to get away from there before anything of the sort happened. Knowing her hated mate as well as she did, he would keep a watch on the airports. He most likely knew she was in Kyoto, so the list was quite narrow. Getting out of there with a real identity was out. She would need aid, but who was influential enough to help her achieve a clean escape? Maybe Kagewaki could do something to help her. He was powerful man although creepy, shady and dangerous. He was also a hanyou. But that was nothing if she couldn't buy her protection from him. What did she have that the bastard needed? Sadly, she came up with nothing. Plus there was a big chance that Maaya's appearance at the Ball had alerted him that the police was onto him. There was nothing of value she could trade with. Well, there was Yuu but she wasn't willing to go to such lengths to betray Maaya. Besides, the Taiyokai didn't know he had a son and what he didn't know didn't hurt him. Moreover, who wanted an enraged mother trying to kill you? They could be quite persistent if they wanted to.

Hitomiko moved her black silken hair behind her ear and continued to ponder in silent terror what she could do to save her hide from the monster that was coming to get her. As she watched Yuu play, in the back of her scared shitless mind, a name popped up. Takemaru. It was so simple and perfect that it almost made her cry from happiness. If she traded the location of the guy's wife for her safety, then she could buy herself some time to exit the country without her nightmare knowing. He would feel her absence but not her location, especially when she didn't want to be found.

With trembling hands she reached for her cell phone and looked for Yura's number. She was in charge of the case and could give her all the information she needed. Then she would need to leave Yuu. Maybe she could take him to the Hospital and leave him there with Maaya. The difficult part was contacting Takemaru. The man was powerful for a ningen in a mostly yokai ruled society. He also was a psychotic mass killer that hated yokai so much that had committed several felonies while trying to rid the earth of them. She could relate to the hate he felt, even if he took it to extremes. Truth be told, Maaya had taught her that yokai were very much like ningen, just more resistant but they made the same mistakes that everybody else made. They had feeling, including the crazy ones they had to arrest.

She found the number she had been looking for and dialed. It rang twice before a voice answered at the other end.

"Yura, it's me Hitomiko," she said a little too happy for a simple call in the morning.

"Oh, hi Mi, at what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Yura asked in a sarcastic manner.

The reality of the situation was that they didn't get along very well. They never called each other, and if they did, it was because they needed something. Hitomiko hadn't thought that ahead of time with the excitement of escaping Shishinki, and now it was very much in jeopardy. She needed a very good excuse to call her and a better one to get the information she wanted.

"Hello, are you still there?" Yura asked after a whole minute of silence.

"Ah, yeah, yeah, I'm here. I was just wondering if you could give me the address of the place Takemaru Kikyo was staying at?" She said, now somewhat shaky.

"Kikyo's address? Why would you need that?" Yura asked a little suspicious.

"Well, Kaede said that the new team was going to take some time to be assembled and we needed to move the witness from her present safe house since it's not so save. She said I was to take care of the transfer and that she would tell me later on who was going to accompany me," she made-up in the spot.

"Wait, I'll have to call Kaede to confirm what you said," said Yura.

"Yura, Yura, don't hang up on me. Listen, ehm, Ka-Kaede can't contact you right now. That's why she told me to call you and let you know myself," her hands were sweating a bit making the phone wet and slippery.

"Why can't she tell me herself?" Yura asked getting worried and even more suspicious.

"Well, she, ah, she had some, ehm, some kind of job she needed to do and, yeah, and she was going to be very busy for the rest of the day," said Hitomiko nodding and complimenting herself for the well thought excuse she made up.

"And how do you know all this?" Yura asked.

"Well, I was in the office at the time she told me," she replied as if it had really happened.

"Mi, didn't you stayed in Maaya's house taking care of Yuu?" The short haired police officer inquired sure that she had her so called partner in a very tight spot.

'_Why is she so insistent,'_ thought Hitomiko "Yes, I'm still taking care of Yuu, but I had something to do in the office so I took him with me. I don't think it really matter how I got my orders, the bottom lines is that I got them, right? So, why don't you just give me the damned address so I can do my job," snapped the priestess.

"Ok, ok, you don't have to bite my head off. I'll give you the address if it's what you want. Here, get some pen and paper and be ready to write it down," finally Yura gave in.

After getting the much desired address, Hitomiko got Yuu dressed and headed to the hospital in her little green bug. The child was very happy that his wish had been granted and was finally allowed to go see his kaa-san who never before hadn't returned home from a mission. It had him really worried about her and he wanted to see her as fast as possible.

It was at least a 30 minutes ride to where Maaya was, but with her hurry, she made it in twenty. It was going to take her some time to find where her best friend was and, although she was in a hurry, she could spare some time to say good bye to her. Given that Shishinki had returned for her, she was afraid that Maaya would betray her location.

* * *

**A**fter calling Hitomiko and finding out that she was already on her way, Kohaku told the Kannon-sensei that Maaya had awoken. The Kami had almost dropped whatever she had been doing to run and check on her favorite patient. He just couldn't understand the woman. She seemed so… innocent? More like childish and it made him doubt that she knew what she was doing. He had to admit that the Kami was probably older than him by a couple hundred years, but he just couldn't wrap his mind around it. The woman didn't seem to be older than 20. Her curvy form was enticing as she walked down the hall in front of him, her dark long hair swaying from side to side and the small tree branches and crystal grapes, that tied some of her hair in two bunds in each side of her head, tinkled. She was almost skipping in happiness as they came closer to their destination.

"How did she look?" The doctor asked probably expecting some intricate assessment of her patient's wellbeing.

"Like hell," replied Kohaku. He was no doctor and wasn't about to try and look foolish in front of this obvious mental case.

The Kami sent him a dark look, telling him exactly what she thought of his comment. It was apparent that the woman didn't like him anyway, so he wasn't going to try hard to impress her. It wasn't like he cared about her opinion either. Although he had to admit that the Kami had one sharp tongue. He had never heard so many ways to call him stupid before. However, their most heated disagreement came when Maaya was the main topic. Kannon-sensei said that the patient was in good condition and if things progress as fast as they had, she would be leaving in the next 24 to 36 hours. At the time Maaya didn't even plan to wake up so he had made his opinion clear. There was no way that his partner was leaving the damned hospital when she couldn't even move. Kannon had looked him right in the eyes and told him with very few words that he wasn't the doctor and that he didn't understand her own species as she did. He guessed she was right, except that Maaya was ningen, not some foreign being from another planet.

Finally reaching Maaya's room, Kannon-sensei opened the door without knocking and entered. Her patient was already waiting for them dozing off a little. It was understandable. It hadn't been too long since she had come in and it certainly was nothing short of a miracle to be walking around with those kinds of injuries.

"Hello, Maaya, I'm your doctor, Kannon Suijin," the Kami introduced herself."How are you feeling?" she asked while putting the stethoscope in her ears and coming closer to her patient to listen to the breathing and heartbeat.

"Tired," answered the patient.

"It's to be expected," mumbled the Kami while she focused in her assessment. "You suffered a concussion, broken limbs and power exhaustion. Most people would have to stay here for at least a week."

"Oh, I can't stay that long," said Maaya thinking about Yuu's court thing. She needed to speak with a lawyer and prepare the paperwork so all could be ready when the court date came.

"Don't worry," Kannon-sensei calmed her down. "You'll be free to go in a couple of hours, although the cast will have to stay for a couple of day. I want the bones to knead back together how they are supposed to."

"That's great," murmured Maaya under her breath.

"Why? Do you have any problem?" Suijin was worried. She found herself wanting to help this creature.

As a god one would expect that to be normal but she knew herself well, and this was the first time that she showed any type of concern about someone's life beside the part restricted to the hospital. She wanted her patients to get well, however, this time she found herself worry for Maaya's everyday life as if the woman was family.

'_She could be,'_ the doctor thought. It wasn't unusual for a philandering god to impregnate a woman no matter the species. However, there was something, she just didn't know what, that made Maaya different. She didn't feel like any other demigod she had encountered, not even like a full fledge Kami. Better yet, the woman didn't feel demonic or divine for that matter, so Suijin didn't know what Maaya was. Her best guess would be human. But no human could heal so fast and so well.

Deciding that wondering about it wasn't going to provide answers, she finished the routine checkup. "She'll be ready to leave in the morning," she told Kohaku who looked at her like she was from another planet. The man was cute and she couldn't help but tease him with her extravagant ways. "She seems a little nervous and might have a hard time sleeping because of the pain, so I'll give her something for it. She'll sleep until the morning and she'll be able to heal completely and replenish the energy."

She pulled out a syringe from her pocked and taking the cap off, she injected the liquid into the IV drip. Within a minute, Maaya was back to sleep, not pain free and relaxed in the drugged sleep.

Kohaku didn't say anything. It would be stupid to. He had to assume the doctor knew what she was doing and, by then, he knew that discussing in a civilized manner what he thought she was doing wrong would be futile. He was also beginning to think that the doctor just liked to raise his hackles. She wasn't getting a reaction out of him this time around.

* * *

**H**e didn't like the place. It was too white and too strange. There was this weird smell that burned his nose when he entered the big building and a lot of strange people in white walking around. He was scared too, because his mom was in this weird place.

Yuu was afraid of what he would find when he finally reached his Okaa-san. He wanted to see her smile. He wanted to see her move and walk around like she always did but he was afraid that this time it wasn't going to be so.

Mi-obaa-san pulled him forward when he trailed behind her but he also paid a little attention to the woman. She had been acting strange too, and it made him wonder if it was because of his momma. He didn't know.

Not knowing was becoming a problem for him.

He was in this big place where people dressed in white ran from one side to the other like they were crazy and talked so fast that most of the strange words they used were lost to his keen hearing. He couldn't help but be distracted by the strange behavior. He couldn't help but be scared when injured people and the people dressed in white began to mingle. Was she among them? Yuu didn't know and it scared him not to know for sure if his momma was ok. His dark gold eyes searched among the sea of people trying to catch a look of every face in there to make sure his okaa-san wasn't there. Wide and scared eyes, almost filled with tears, blinked to keep them at bay. Kaa-san had told him to be strong long ago, and he wanted to do as she said. She would be proud of him if he did so.

Mi-obaa-san reached the elevator and pressed the button. Several minutes later, the doors opened and she pulled Yuu into the box. The little hanyou was awed at the contraption with the lighted buttons that were too far up to reach and, for a minute, he forgot where he was. Then something dinged getting his attention, and the thick metal doors opened to let some people out and others in.

The elevator ride was quiet. Few of the people who rode up talked but somehow, the elevator and the people who got in and out couldn't keep his worried mind entertained for long. He was still thinking of his okaa-san.

Finally reaching their destination, Mi-obaa-san pulled him along again until they reached a hall with many doors. In one of them, he knew, his okaa-san was surrounded by the smell that burned his nose.

They walked down the aisle and stopped at one of the doors in which his obaa-san knocked. He was relieved to see Kohaku-ojii-san opened the door and in a hurry he pushed his head inside to search for his momma.

Worry consumed him when he saw her in a white bed sleeping. Was she ok? He wanted to ask but feared the answer. Maybe he should wait until his momma woke up. She would wake up, right?

"Has she woken up yet?" Yuu heard Hitomiko ask in a whisper.

"Yeah, she was awake until the Kannon-sensei came in and checked her," Kohaku answered to his relieve. His momma was ok, just sleeping.

Ignoring the two adults, the pup keep his attention on his mother, not seeing as the taijijya looked the visiting miko up and down. The woman was dressed to impress and he couldn't help but ask. "Where are you going?"

"Ah, well, I need to leave for a while so I came to leave Yuu in your care. I hope Maaya doesn't get mad at me," she said.

"Don't worry about it. When she woke up the first thing she wanted to do was call him and let him know she was ok. I know how he gets when he's far away from her for too long. It doesn't surprise me that he wanted to come too," he murmured while looking from mother to son with a small smile in his face.

"Yes, of course. Well, I have to leave. Tell Maaya I said hi. Ok? Bye," she murmured as she stepped through the door.

Yuu sat there looking at his mother. Waiting for her to wake up and ensure him she was ok, but she just kept on sleeping. Maybe she was really tired and had to rest for some time. That didn't make him feel good because he had no idea how long the nap she was taking was and that scared him. He wanted his momma back in good shape. He wanted her to play with him like every morning and, if he had been allowed, he would have jumped in the weird bed she was in to play with her. However, they said she was hurt, and if he jumped on her, he could hurt her more. That was something he didn't want. He was still worried, but at least he could be good and wait for her to wake up, like a good boy.

Seeing the worried look in Yuu's face, Kohaku placed a hand in his shoulder to calm him down. "She'll be fine. She's strong after all," he said in a quiet whisper.

Yuu nodded at the words. He had faith in his okaa-san.

Seeing the fear in the pup's eyes somewhat disappeared, Kohaku went to see and made a hand motion for Yuu to follow. They still had the rest of the afternoon and night there, so they might as well get comfortable.

* * *

**S**he waited several minutes before she was completely convinced that Mi was going to do something that wasn't good for their case. It was just weird that she became interested in Kikyo when she had another case to take care of, a case that was rather hard given that one of the officers in it ended up in emergency. The Sakasagami Yokai was worried sick about Kaede too. What was so important that the old miko needed to leave the office without anybody knowing? It was fishy and she was going to find where the stink was coming from. As consequence, she called the Pervert.

Miroku was a good cop but his mind was always in the gutter. She really wondered how his wife could live with him. Then again, the ex-demon slayer was a strong female and she knew how to neutralize him fast and efficiently.

The call didn't yield new information, but she verified the incident with Mi and what she said about Kaede. The hoshi didn't know anything. So, as her next step, she called the office. If it was true that everybody was absent, then the phone was going to ring for a long time. Surprise, surprise, Kaede answered. It seemed she wasn't as busy as Mi made it sound.

Without beating around the bush, Yura told her boss all that had happened. Her new orders were simple. Get Kikyo out of the safe house today and try to locate the dark-haired miko.

Then, she had to call the pervert again and tell him to meet her in front of the station. He needed to be armed and they also needed a big vehicle since it was three people they needed to move. Now she had to find a new safe house and call Kohaku. If Mi was doing something, she needed to leave Yuu with Maaya. And she could bet the little man was already there with his mother.

Exactly as she had predicted, Mi has passed through, but since Maaya had been sleeping and they didn't talk. She could try to locate her using the GPS system, but she was sure the miko had destroyed it. So they were going to spend the approximately next 15 Hours going to Tokyo and back, hopefully with Kikyo and her daughters with them.

* * *

**L**ooking at a paper for the third time and not being able to read, even less understand what he was reading, was something the he wasn't used to. He was in his office, doing what he did every day, and he hardly could concentrate in his work. What had gone wrong on the last day or so? Well many things. He had to find who the mark in his shoulder belonged to. He had to see if Maaya was ok. He wanted to know what Maaya was hiding. He wasn't happy the reviews the newspaper had given his hard worked, stupid Charity Ball that ended up being a disaster. His brother was as annoying as ever. Oh, and he wanted to know what was the relationship between Kohaku and Maaya. The complaint list was long and the need to get these stupid worries out of his mind and trying to answer each and every question that was driving him insane. But he could solve some of them, especially the ones that were annoying him the most. Those related to Maaya.

He took his cell phone and looked for a number, but halfway there he pushed end and just looked at the black iPhone in his hand. He wasn't sure if calling that person would solve the problem. No. It would solve the problem. He just wasn't sure he wanted it solved so fast. With that in mind he decided it was time to approach ano hito since it wasn't like him to be stuck in the same dilemma for too long. It was becoming uncomfortable and it was interfering with his work, something that happened rarely.

"Hello," said a voice at the other end of the phone.

"Kouga, I have a job for you," said Sesshoumaru without preambles and using his favorite tone with the yokai, the murderous one.

"Oh, Taishou-sama, it's been a while since you needed my services. Who do I have to investigate now? An employee who is stealing from you? Another cybernetic attack? Or is it Naraku again?" the exasperating voice at the other end of the line asked. That was the reason he didn't really want to talk to the wolf, he talked too much for Sesshoumaru's liking.

"Flea-bag shut up and let me talk," he snapped hoping that it would shut the mongrel up for at least a second. "I want you to investigate a woman named Minamoto Maaya…" He began to say, but it seemed that even his deadly voice could not deter the wolf from commenting about his personal life.

"Ah, lady problems. Never thought I would see the day that the Western Dignitary would call me to follow a female through Japan," said the overly happy Ookami.

"Wolf, listen if you want to keep something very important attacked to your anatomy," Sesshoumaru warned before continuing as if he had not been interrupted. Maybe ignoring what the wolf had said would make the reason he was investigating her something akin of professional and not private. "I want a background check. She lives here in Kyoto. As of yesterday she was admitted into Kaminari Health Institute and I'm pretty sure she works with Miroku in the West Police. Bring me anything you find about her," he said before hanging up.

He was sure that wasn't going to be safe from him for too long, the wolf was bound to come and make fun of him while he was doing his job. However, he needed to find Maaya, not only because of those pesky questions that were haunting him, but because he wanted to thank her for saving Kagome. Maybe if he paid the hospital bill as a thank-you gift, they would be able to talk about something that didn't include her slapping him. The kissing he wasn't opposed so much, after all, she looked as beautiful as the day he had first met her, and he was sure they could work something out between them. He sighed. It was not like him to be sighing and even less thinking about a female he had bedded before. Something had to be wrong with him. He should just go and dump a bag full of money at her feet in the hospital room and leave her with her broken arm and most likely unconscious body. He didn't care about her. It was just plain curiosity that had him thinking too much about the petite onna.

He hardened his eyes once again making them look cold. He had decided that whatever he found wasn't his business. He didn't know Maaya, otherwise he would not be investigating her, and he was damned sure she didn't know him. There was no connection between them, only his slight gratitude for saving Kagome, and that was to end soon as well.

* * *

**A/N**

Finally finished the 7th chapter. This had been redone and there have been some changes in the previous ones, again. It might be tiresome but, it was because of a plot flaw that I had to change it. The change is simple, just the name of the drug. The drug now is called Sin and it's made from poisonous plants. Yokai and hanyou are not affected by the chemical components found in plants since many of them have some kind of poison in their makeup. The yokai poison can affect other yokai. However, Sin by itself cannot kill anything. The dangerous component was added by Takemaru and is known as Crystallized Miko Powder (CMP). As the name implies, Takemaru found a way to make crystals from the miko energy. Once gridded, it can be added to Sin making the once harmless drug dangerous for any yokai and hanyou. In low quantities harms the yokai and might even kill him/her. However, it won't leave any trace since it's just a natural way of killing yokai.

I'll explain this better. When miko attack, the burned injuries will be visible and outside. When Sin and CMP are used together, the injuries will be internal and impossible to discern since they'll be small and slow acting. It will fry the body but not in a noticeable manner.

Regarding everything else, there is no big change.

Thanks for reading the story and I hoped you enjoyed it,

_Seleni Argyrios_


	8. Chapter 8

**Vocabulary**

Otouto –Younger brother

Kamigyou-ku – A residential ward in Kyoto, Japan that houses rich people and I guessed it also important businesses.

Moushiwake arimasen deshita – A very formal expression used to apologize to superiors.

Junsa Bunchou – Police Sergeant

Junsa – Police officer

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

**Chapter 8: Betrayal**

**K**ouga was in Tokyo when he received Sesshoumaru's call. He had answer, expecting to be told to look into an employee who was suspected of stealing or something related –the Western Dignitary only called him when it was about work-, but was surprised when the request was to investigate some chick. Sesshoumaru never talked about another female that wasn't Kagome, unless associated with his work, and even then, he didn't say much. So when he heard those words from his employer's mouth, he didn't know if he should be happy that the Lord had gotten over his brother's wife or worried that this new onna was also unattainable. Either way, he couldn't let that opportunity go without getting some entertainment from it. However, that was short-lived since the taiyokai just gave him his orders and hanged up letting him talk to himself for a while until he noticed that Sesshoumaru had ended the call some minutes ago.

He signed and wondered if his boss was going to be fine. He had been heartbroken for so many years that he was worried he was going to snap one of these days and do something really stupid. Maybe this new female would help him. But first he needed to know who she was. And, since he wasn't in Kyoto at that moment, he would have to talk to one of his workers to take the case and report to him all related to this female.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, where he had put after he ended his previous call, he dialed Kai's number which he knew by memory. He heard it ring for a while until he heard a click.

"Kai, listen. Sesshoumaru called me…" he stopped to listen to Kai who was talking to him just as he was trying to tell him something. He was about to tell the mutt to shut the hell up and let him talk when he noticed that it was the answering machine that had kicked in when the younger Ookami hadn't answer his phone. Thinking better, he decided to try Shinta. He was an expert in that kind of thing and had the experience even when he was Kai's otouto.

Once more he dialed the other number he had memorized. Again, it rang several times before somebody picked it up and, after making sure he wasn't talking to an answering machine, he began to impart orders.

"Hello, Shinta. Are you busy right now? No? Good. I need you to investigate someone for me. I won't be back for another week and Sesshoumaru wants it as soon as possible."

"Ok" he heard the other say. "The name?"

"Minamoto Maaya," said Kouga with a big smile. Sooner than expected everybody would know that Taishou Sesshoumaru was investigating a woman.

"Does she work for Sesshoumaru-sama?" asked Shinta. He was used to being stuck with that kind of job and already knew that the Western Dignitary only requested background check when he wanted to hire someone or when he was planning to fire them.

"Actually no," said Kouga still grinning. "It seems like he doesn't know much about the female. The only information he gave me was that she had been admitted into the Kaminari Clinic yesterday night and that there is a possibility of her being a police officer."

"Are you serious?" he heard Shinta's voice crack. It happened once in a while showing that the young yokai was hitting puberty.

"Yeah, he sounded like he was serious but I'm not sure about this so I want you to find me everything you can on her, even her three sizes, ok?" Kouga said now stern. "I'm sure he would like to know that," he added to himself.

"Got it boss, I'm already on it," said the exited teenager before hanging up.

Shaking his head in reluctant amusement, Kouga placed his phone in the pocket of his jacket and continued to walk toward his destination. Along the way, he briefly wondered who this new lady was and how had she managed to capture Sesshoumaru's undivided interest. However, knowing that thinking about it wasn't going to provided any answer and that his friend was poor source of information, he decided to way until his pack member found the required information. Knowing Shinta, he would be using all those contacts and search engines to find all records on Minamoto Maaya. As usual, the young Ookami would contact him first and from there, he would inform his eminence the Western Dignitary. That didn't mean that Sesshoumaru was going to get all the information. Unless the guy was serious, he would only want an abridged version of Shinta's findings. Somehow, Kouga was thinking that the taiyokai would want the whole package, including having the woman followed and investigated to the last top-secret detail. It might be a good idea if it wasn't because he had a feeling that what they found would turn his boss's life upside down.

* * *

**T**he stop on the hospital only took Mi several minutes. She had planned to speak with Maaya, but seeing that she was sleeping at the moment it was prudent to just leave and maybe write a good bye note instead. So she smiled at Kohaku and Yuu adding that she would see them later. A lie, she knew, but more a necessity that anything else.

Walking out of the hospital like she wasn't in a hurry took a lot of her energy. Just as not stepping on the gas and high tailing out of there once she put her foot on the gas pedal. She needed to fool everyone, including the ignorant passer-by. Anyone curious enough could remember a speeding car. Such little details were what Shishinki used to find people who had managed to escape from his clutches. Mi was in a hurry to escape, but she wasn't diluted enough to believe that making any mistake would spare her from his wrath.

The parking area was busy at that time with many cars coming in and out. Visitors, she guessed. Driving with a calm she didn't feel or have, she headed toward Kamigyou-ku, a ward in Kyoto that housed business. She was looking for a building she had passed many times before, but never had the opportunity to visit. However, this time, if she played her cards right, not only would she enter but would stay there until she could leave the country.

After driving for several minutes among huge skyscrapers, one in special called her attention. The building had thirty plus floors and the walls were made of glass. Its form was circular with a huge space in the middle. It was considered one of the most beautiful buildings not belonging to the yokai culture. She went there, and after parking her old car, she entered the exquisite ground floor. The first thing to notice was the elegance of the place, even in the lobby. The floor had a beautiful dark red rug that covered the whole ground. Paints of some of the most famous ningen artist in the world hung from its wall with other less gracious items. There were couches around a table with an abstract sculpture on it, a small stand that held magazines and there also was the ever annoying receptionist.

She headed toward the woman who seemed to be in a deep phone conversation with a friend. Stopping right in front of the woman to get her attention, the lady ignored her for some time before she decided that the woman wasn't going to hang up any time soon. In a not so loud voice she called the woman since, even if there was nobody with them, she didn't want to seem rude.

"I'm sorry," the words left Mi's mouth after some time debating if they were or not the most classical way to do it.

"Hi, may I help you?" The air head known to be in charge of the front desk asked.

"Yes, I need to speak with Takemaru Setsuna-sama," Hitomiko's sweetest voice resonated through the empty lobby.

"Do you have an appointment?" asked the woman.

"Sadly, I don't have one, but I'm sure he would receive me if you called him and explained to him why I'm here," the miko tried to convince the woman. However, as always such things weren't that easy to achieve. "It's really important and I'm sure he wouldn't mind my visit that much," she added.

"Sorry, but he is in a meeting right now and will be unable to receive you right away. Why don't you make an appointment with his personal assistant and wait until he can meet with you," asked the woman knowing the procedures. It was not the first time that somebody came in to speak with the owner of the building without an appointment. Most of the time the unexpected visitors were yokai who had complains toward the treatment they received since the company didn't accept demons of any kind, or those yokai who were against the not so legal activities that the corporation involved itself with. Also, there were those who approved of the methods the owner did things with yokai and wanted to speak with him to give new ideas and their opinion on what they did. And recently, there were those who had information about his wife and daughters who had mysteriously gone missing about a month ago.

Rumors about the separation were flying around. Some said that his wife found another love and left him planning to request the divorce and take his daughters and some of his money with her. That rumor made many human women very happy but those that had had the guts to actually ask him found themselves with no job for some mysterious reason, and there were those that had also disappeared. Others said she was kidnapped by yokai and needed to be rescued, that he was just waiting for the ransom note to go save them. However, each time he was asked no answer was received. And the last more skeptic reason was that she went to the police and was under the Witness Protection Program waiting to testify against him. Since nobody knew the truth, the subject was exaggerated more often than not and most the speculations regarding it were most likely false.

"How long would that take?" Hitomiko asked the receptionist knowing that answer wasn't going to be to her liking.

"Well, about a month maybe, Takemaru-sama's agenda is quite packed during this time of year." It was the usual tactic used in hopes of convincing unwanted visitors to leave and not come back.

"This is quite important and urgent. I need to speak with Takemaru. Would you please just let me talk to him for a minute?" The police officer knew her message wasn't getting across.

"I'm sorry madam but I'm following orders. You should leave. Takemaru-sama will not be able to speak with you today or tomorrow," the receptionist said a little harshly.

"You don't understand, it's a matter of security what we are talking about here. If you don't let me see him then you will find your butt without job in a couple of weeks and your precious boss with his ass in jail. If it makes you feel better tell him that it's about his wife. Tell him I know where she is and if you don't hurry up her location will be changed and this time I won't be told where to find her," said Hitomiko getting desperate and angry.

The receptionist wasn't buying anything Mi was telling her and she didn't like it. She didn't care about Takemaru Kikyo in the least, but it was her trump card to get her ass out of the country and far away from Shishinki. If she couldn't reach Takemaru she might as well go back to her odious mate and please him. She had no other option. She would have to tell the woman that she was with the police and her information was good but it wouldn't be for long if she kept eating her nails and not knowing what to do.

The receptionist picked up her phone and dialed a number. Hitomiko couldn't see the digits, and even if she did saw it, it wouldn't help her much. However, she had the feeling that it was the security office to get her out of there. So, if the woman wasn't going to let her in, she was going to make her way through. Seeing her opportunity when the elevators opened to let out some of the workers, she ran to them wading fast between the people and pressing the button to the last floor as soon as she was inside. She heard the woman scream for her to stop but Hitomiko ignored her while she pressed another button to close the doors faster. For some reason, the elevator was stubborn and the doors weren't closing. Maybe they had some type of device that controlled the machinery in this kind of situations. Mi begged that not to be the case or she was screwed. Seeing the security guards appear and run toward her, she pressed the button harder, frantically begging it to close the dammed door.

She was desperate as the guards came closer, but by some miracle, the doors decided to close at the time leaving the surprised personnel reaching the door and probably trying to pry it open as she went up. Stumbling back against the metal wall, Mi released a breath of relieve. Her heart was beating fast and, for a second there, she thought she had been lost. Composing herself after that little fright, she focused on the next step of her plan. Finding Takemaru Setsuna.

* * *

**A** vein was ticking in his forehead planning to explode at any second. For some reason that he couldn't fathom, his employees had decided to throw a party outside his meeting room. It was unbelievable. The whole place was supposed to be sound proof.

Seeing that the racket wasn't quieting down, Takemaru interrupted the meeting with a curt "be right back" and went to assess the situation. Opening the heavy, large double doors of the meeting room, he stepped outside to come and face a squabbling crowd.

He wasn't sure what he had been hoping to find once he was out there, but it certainly wasn't what he was seeing. A dark haired woman dressed quite informally to be in his building was fighting his security officers and winning. Two of the men lay on the floor unconscious while three more tried, in vain might he add, to stop her trek to his office. His personal assistant watched in silence from a corner disbelieve etched in her face, while the receptionist from the first floor verbally sparred with the hellish woman who was obviously the cause of the noise.

He was going to need some new employees as soon as he was done sorting out this unprecedented mess.

"Silence," he bellowed over the participants of the disturbance. Displease for having to scream, Takemaru composed himself and asked in a normal, calm and very deceitful voice, "what's happening here?" The receptionist had to jump in and make a mess of this.

"Takemaru-sama, moushiwake arimasen deshita, we'll take care of the problem as fast as possible. You don't have to concern yourself with this woman, she'll be leaving in a matter of seconds," sucked up the air head.

"Senmatsu-san, I think I asked what was happening here, not your opinion on its importance. So, what is going on?" He requested one more time. This time, his own personal assistant cut in to save her co-worker.

"Takemaru-sama, this woman came looking for you but she didn't have an appointment, so she wasn't granted passage to meet you. However, she went into the elevator and made her way in. The security guard and Senmatsu-san were tailing her and tried to get her to leave the floor by force, but she still refused alleging to have valuable information about the location of your wife and daughters. Obviously, we didn't believe a word she said. Yet, she still refused to leave without speaking to you personally. So we called for more help and then she began to scream. That was when you came out to assess the problem," finished the woman who was almost breathless from talking none stop.

"Let her go," he ordered the guards who obeyed him immediately.

Mi disentangled herself from her adversaries and pulled the t-shirt down in an effort to straight the wrinkles that had formed from the fighting. She absently combed her hair as she carefully watched the man who had arrived. She knew who he was. She had seen enough photos of him to recognize him once in his presence. The long curly hair held up in a ponytail and those red hate filled eyes looked at her like one would an insect under a microscope. Hitomiko hid the shiver that wrecked her frame and held her inspection of him. Now the question was in what he would do. How would he react to her presence in his spotless building.

Takemaru regarded the woman carefully. She didn't seem to be a yokai or even a hanyou. If she had been either one, the building or his employees wouldn't be standing. Then, what did she want?

Hiding his curiosity, he managed a professional smile before asking. "Who might you be?" He wasn't expecting her to have any information, valuable or otherwise, since his wife had betrayed him, and if she was to return to him, she would end up in a really bad spot. No, he didn't expect Kikyo to be that easy to find when she was under the government's protection.

"I would like to speak with you alone. What I have to say is very important and not for everyone to hear." She knew he was planning to show her the door any minute now, so actually trying to get him alone was a feat in itself.

"Come this way," against his better judgment he led her to his private office. He didn't know why he was taking her there, but something in her actions told him to actually listen.

Closing the door soon after letting her in and sitting in his black leather chair, he looked at her expecting something. However, her eyes traveled around his office, inspecting and taking note of every detail. The place was elegant just like the whole building and the owner himself. The brownish rug extended itself though the whole office and the mahogany desk also looked quite expensive. His seemly interested expression was very misleading since he cared not for what she had to say and planned to tell her so from the beginning. More precisely, he didn't plan to let her speak at all before telling her to leave his office and never come back.

"Takemaru-sama, let me introduce myself. I'm Ebina Hitomiko, Junsa Bunchou of the West Police. Nice to meet you," she was sure he wouldn't throw her out with this kind of info.

He hadn't expected that. However, it was hard to note the difference between his surprise face and the apathetic one, they looked almost the same. No, she could tell they were the same without a second thought. It seemed this man was hard to impress.

"I really… didn't expect that," the uncaring tone in place. "Show me your identification," he demanded without hesitation. Seconds later, he had the ID in his hands and was inspecting it very meticulously as if it could answer him. "It looks authentic." He returned the ID and looked at Hitomiko in a new light. Silently considering new implication, he decided to ask. "Why would the police come to me with information on my wife who happens to be trying to put me behind bars?"

"I need help, and I'm sure you wouldn't aid me if I didn't have something to bartend with." She just knew she wouldn't still be there if it wasn't because he thought she could be useful.

"True, I would have thrown you on the dumpster without listening at all. However, since this includes my wife's return, I'll have to consider what you want," he shrugged already calculating the possibilities.

"What I require is to leave the country," she said playing with her hair.

He narrowed his eyes. "That's all? You could do that by yourself."

"No, I couldn't. You see, somebody is looking for me and I can't let him find me. He is a very powerful … being and I have no other option but to come to you," she didn't have to say much more, he already had a pretty good idea.

"So, what exactly do you need?"

"I need a place to stay for a while, a new identity and documents and a plane ticket to anywhere; I don't particularly care as long as it's far, very far. I'll take care of everything else."

"It seems fair. But if you would tell me, who is this … being you are running away from?" He asked somewhat intrigued.

"That is none of your business. All you need to know is that he has powerful connections, as powerful as yours. Other than that, there is no much to tell. Also, I would like the ticket to be for the next week, the week after that the latest," she added.

"Why not immediately?" He wondered.

"I know he's coming but I don't have the date yet. I would like to minimize the possibility of him finding me in the airport. I rather leave later that be caught because I was too hasty."

He had to admit she was smart. But he also knew she was panicking and that's why she had come to him. But then again, if this being, as she put it, had good connections, it made sense to make some powerful friends. He didn't see any drawbacks to this plan of hers. However, she would have to wait until he had Kikyo in his hands, or there was no deal.

"I think is a quite interesting proposal, and, although I would like to think it over for a while longer, I know there is no time to waste when I'm the one who gets the most of it. However, I would like to add a clause to this agreement," he said cautiously.

"What is it?" She was close to panicking. She was in no position to add any clause to the so called pact.

"I would like to wait until Kikyo is in my people's hands before we proceed to the next stage of your request," he said.

"I guess it should be fine. I don't see any problem with an insurance. However, if they get there too late and miss her you still have to help me," she added just in case.

"I don't think so. If she is not there, then you are on your own," was his firm replay. "You have to understand, all this could be a set up. I'm taking a great risk by just letting you in. If this so called address of yours is real, it better have a Kikyo in it as well. Otherwise, you'll have another person to worry about," the menace in his voice was obvious. She knew she had been playing with fire from the beginning, but there was little she could do. She saw no way out either way, so she was going to roll it out with this one. It was the best option.

"Fine, I'll accept your proposal, but I'll let you know that this is no trap."

"We'll see. What's the address?"

* * *

**T**he night was serene with the usual noises that accompanied the people who were returning home late. The sun was hidden and the mantle of bright bulbs had spread beyond the horizon. Even the moon in its banana form was hanging lazily from the sky, as it did every night. Everything seemed to be happening in its daily order, but there was something else present, a feeling in the air that made it different from others. It wasn't visible, but it silently declared that something was going to happen. She knew it. She felt it even when others seem to ignore the warning. However, she discerned it and with that was enough. She had to be ready for when it happen, although she hardly knew what it was.

Squirming in the bed with her nerve endings in high alert she tried to pay attention to the TV. It was a waste of time as her eyes once again flew to the door of the hotel room. How much longer did they have to stay there?

The place was small, she was being guarded 24 hours a day, and her two girls couldn't have anything they asked for. It was bad and felt worse being in that kind of situation, but she had agreed to it. Had it been a bad decision on her part? She wasn't so sure. All she knew was that she had limited resources, and she had done with them what she could. What was she expected to do?

This time, she was looking at the windows to her left. They were covered by thick beige curtains that didn't let any light through. Lucky for her, the way they were at that moment had a small separation between the two sheets big enough for her to see from her position. But looking outside didn't soothe her irritated nerves. Instead, the feeling became something akin of fear. It seemed her worry was playing some kind of trick in her conscious mind, or her instincts were telling her to run. Maybe she should call Mayu, and beg her to change them to another place, anywhere where the annoying feeling wouldn't bother her. But that was a stupid request. At that hour there was no decent hotel that would accept them and she wasn't about to take her two growing daughters to an immoral place.

Still, the annoying tension in the air intensified. She recognized it immediately with her holy powers. And she guessed she was somehow glimpsing into the near future as she was seeing blood and hearing screams. But this didn't make her change her outer appearance at all. On the contrary, her pale unemotional face stayed the same through the images of massacre that appeared in front of her.

Deciding that sitting down and doing nothing was very unlike her, she stood up and went to the door. She planned to ask Mayu to change their position and give detail of the why. He, somehow, had found her location, and had sent people to get her back. _'Fine' _she told herself _'I won't go down without a fight.'_

As soon as she opened the door, a big yokai, both horizontally and vertically, interrupted her advance. Seeing no other choice but to comply with their orders she decided to ask the yokai nicely and not purify him as she would have done a mere month ago.

"I want to speak with Mayu," she demanded not even looking at the thing in front of her.

"Mayu is not available right now. Would you like to speak with our sergeant?" He asked as politely as possible.

"Is he a yokai?" She interrogated him.

"Yes," doubting himself he answered. He had guessed that the pretty lady with poker face didn't like yokai very much even when most miko and yokai worked together in special police departments that helped keep beings like them under control.

"Then no, I'll wait for her return," said the curvaceous goddess and returned inside her room.

She hated them all. Yokai, miko, hanyou and even Kami if there was any. She just hated them. Or maybe it was because she loved them so much that she couldn't help but hate them. She knew that to be the truth. She loved them, specially a certain hanyou. She had loved him the most. As a man, as an equal, but it hadn't been enough. She had also loved her sister as much as him. However, both of them had taken everything from her. Her sister gained the power that had belonged to the eldest daughter of the Higurashi Family for thousands of years. Somehow, she hadn't been pure enough to receive the Shikon no Tama. The rock hadn't acknowledged her as the true heir to its power. At first, she was shocked, but eventually she found herself no worrying about it. The hanyou had taught her that power wasn't everything. And then, they announced they were getting married. She had been angry and thought she had been betrayed by the people she trusted. She had a great discussion with her sister and never again they had spoken. She stormed out of the house to never return. From that day forward, the woman who had stolen her beloved hanyou wasn't her sister. Her sister had died years ago and it was nothing more than a fading memory. But the hanyou wasn't so lucky either. Her thoughts told her he had used her to get close to her sister and because of it he was going to pay.

She was sure she would hate them forever and would pursue her chance of vengeance even if she had to visit hell to achieve it. Until that day came.

She had been doing everything the organization asked for which mainly included killing certain yokai for the benefit of their future Zero-Demon World. It was a perfect plan that would take years to accomplish but as long as they persevered it would work itself out. The current gathering was scheduling several attacks on the special departments that took care of yokai related threads. Of course, those that would be harmed would be the demons only; no human should be injured when the plot was carried out. She had assumed she was also going to be part of the attack, since she had been active for years. However, her named was called out.

"Kikyo," the man's voice was low and sexy, but also commanding and, as always, got her attention instantly.

"Yes," her voice had the uninvolved feeling it had developed.

"This time you won't participate," he said automatically lifting the corner of his mouth in a semi-smile.

"Why not?" Had she done something wrong and was being punished? She didn't recall doing anything to discomfort the man who was guiding this assembly. "Did I do something wrong, Setsuna?"

"No, of course not, but I'm going to give you a special mission," his eyes shone maliciously.

"What mission?" What was he playing at? It was obvious he was planning something else, but what? She had learned to read him a little more than other people but at times it was hard to guess, like at that moment.

"I think it's time to get your revenge."

It was like cold water had been dropped on her but she acted as if nothing had happened. "So soon?" Her voice didn't come out broken and she even managed a little smile. "What do I have to do?"

"Nothing much. Just eliminate the Taishou Family." The bastard didn't take his eyes away from her and saw each and every thing she did. He was trying to find out what she was thinking, but he was in for a surprise. She didn't falter as she nodded her head.

"How would I do this?" She asked. It seemed the answered was enough to satisfy him and continued the meeting as planned. For the moment she was safe, her perfected poker face wasn't going to lose to him. After all, she had had a good teacher. She just didn't know how long she could keep the teacher fooled.

For Kikyo, her family had been everything and, even if they weren't getting along that well anymore, she wasn't about to kill any of them. She had begun to develop a plan to escape her husband as soon as she felt his eyes had left her. Eventually, she managed to take her daughters and leave his house to go straight to the police. She asked for a place to stay and in exchange she would give them information about him. Everything had been going somewhat fine. But this night seemed to carry the edge of battle. She was certain he was going to get her. But he would not get everything.

Deciding that talking to the demon was the best option right then, she went back outside. The yokai was standing in the same spot as before and he turned to look at her as he had done the first time.

"What's your name?" She decided to ask. She wasn't acting sexy but she wasn't her cold self either.

"Hachi, madam," he looked at her strangely. He really hadn't expected her to talk to him even less ask for his name.

"Hachi, I need a favor," she declared without preambles in a hushed tone.

"Wh-what can I do for you, Kikyo-san." He was a little taken aback by the conviction of her statement.

"Someone is coming to take me back to my husband and I can't leave this place. Don't get me wrong," she intercepted before he had a change to ask, "I'm not looking forward to returning and that's why I need your collaboration. I don't want my daughters to be here when they arrive. It's going to be dangerous for them if they stay and I would rather they didn't see they mother beaten up. Because of that, I'm willing to ask you to take them to Kyoto. My sister lives there and she will take care of them while I'm unable to."

"But… but we should change you to another…"

"No, there is no time. By the time you have a room available for me it'll be too late. I can die in the cross fire but I don't want my daughters involved in this. They are important to me and I know my sister will look after them as if they are her own. In exchange for your help I'll give you the password, key and everything else that is needed to retrieve the information that incriminates Takemaru." The way she said it made it look like an order and not a request.

"I… I can't… I mean, how can I do this?" Hachi didn't know what to do. What she was proposing was too good to be true. On the other hand if what she said was true, then this was the best option. Looking at the woman who seemed to have a cold personality, he notice that she was a little nervous and her eyes didn't trail from the hall. It was as if she was waiting for something to happen. Hachi had learned many years ago that priestesses had a kin sense of preservation, even more than demons, so seeing this miko nervous made him anxious. Maybe he should just accept and leave, because as time passed he felt the air thicken with anticipation. That night, it was going to be a dangerous one. "Ok, I'll do it. But is there any possibility that you'll retrieve your children? I mean, any at all?"

"I don't know, but I think the answer would be no. if I know him as well as I think I do, he'll send somebody I can't win against. But I don't care as long as my daughters are safe." There was a sad undertone in her monotone voice, one of lost and sacrifice. "Come. It's time for you to take my daughters to a safer place," she turned in her heels and went inside with Hachi tailing behind her. She had left behind the weakness that had assaulted her mind and was ready to fight. Once more, Kikyo was the unfeeling woman she had seemed to be.

* * *

**M**ayu had just arrived at the small hotel and as usual, she headed for the elevator in the lobby. The place wasn't fancy but it was decent, and because of that, people with low budget used the place a lot. It also allowed yokai, humans and everything in between, so the place wasn't too crowded making it obvious that ningen and demons didn't get along that well.

She called the elevator and waited for it to come down. Not a minute later the ding announcing that it was there sounded through the place and those waiting to get in entered. There was a couple. The woman was tall, blond, dressed formally and carrying a small brown purse. The man seemed to be a yokai. He was also dressed formally and was carrying a briefcase. Next to them, an old lady with a walking stick carried a huge bag and a small Chihuahua which was japing toward the couple.

In the third floor the old lady with the annoying dog left the elevator, but the couple stayed until the elevator stopped in the sixth floor. They walked out and headed for the room 632 which had the door open and no guard.

Mayu's senses went into high alert as she continued down the hall as if it wasn't the room she had been planning to visit. As she passed, she looked inside only to find the couple looking at her. Their eyes were cold and send shivers down her spine, but with enough training she managed to contain the convulsion of her body and headed toward one of the emergency exits.

As she neared the staircase she reached for her cell phone in the back pocket of her jeans only to find it wasn't there anymore. She was petrified. When had they taken her cell? How was she supposed to call for back-up? Where was Kikyo? All these questions flew around in her head at top speed. What was going on?

"You are one of them," a voice said at her back.

She turned around to find the blond woman. Her green eyes were hypnotizing and she could do nothing as the onna extended her hand and pushed her back. Forgetting for an instant that she was at the top of the staircase she took a step back. From then on, it all happened in slow motion. Her foot met thin air and her body began to fall backwards. It took her second to realize she was falling and the realization surprised her to no end. Fear numbed her mind as her body felt backward with her hands extended trying to catch onto something. She toppled down the stairs hitting her head and breaking some bones in the process. It hurt. The pain was blinding and immobilizing. She couldn't feel her legs and everything else was just too heavy and took much of her concentration to make it move. The ribbons of pain filling her brain made it hard to think and her thought dissipated fast. Her vision was blurry as she blinked and at times everything was dark.

Moaning from the pain, Mayu tried to move her head. She closed and opened her eyes a couple of times in an effort to focus but the coldness and pain made it impossible. Nothing in her body worked beside the pain receptors. Her hearing had multiplied several times over, as she heard loud steps coming closer. If she had to guess, the woman wore high-heels. The choice of footwear was confirmed as soon as the black professional shoes appeared before her eyes. The image was blurry and disappearing fast, but the question didn't escape her. "Where is Kikyo?"

* * *

**A/N**

The re-written chapter 8 is ready for publishing. As I said on the A/N of the previous chapter, this one will not be about Maaya, but about other sub-plots in the story. They might have a little to do with the story because eventually they all come up to the villains and the protagonists. I plan to add some progress in Sesshoumaru and Maaya's relationship by the end of the next chapter. It's not much; just the report Kouga (or Shinta) has to make and Maaya's return to her house. However, do not despair. I plan to have a tense chapter following that.

I hope you enjoy your reading,

_Seleni Argyrios_


End file.
